| UNICEF more than doubles coronavirus appeal to $1.6 bln Posted: 11 May 2020 05:01 PM PDT |
| Putin eases Russia's coronavirus measures as cases keep mounting Posted: 11 May 2020 04:29 PM PDT  As Putin gives many Russians the green light to return to work, a WHO official says the epidemic may just be peaking.
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| UN says 7 or 8 `top' candidates for a COVID-19 vaccine exist Posted: 11 May 2020 04:27 PM PDT  The World Health Organization chief said Monday there are around seven or eight "top" candidates for a vaccine to combat the novel coronavirus and work on them is being accelerated. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a U.N. Economic and Social Council video briefing the original thinking two months ago was that it may take 12 to 18 months for a vaccine. "We have good candidates now," Tedros said.
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| South Africa's coronavirus lockdown: Doubts creep in Posted: 11 May 2020 04:13 PM PDT  South Africa has been praised for halting the spread of coronavirus but unity is wearing thin.
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| Organ transplants dive amid virus crisis, start to inch back Posted: 11 May 2020 03:32 PM PDT  Organ transplants plummeted as COVID-19 swept through communities, with surgeons wary of endangering living donors and unable to retrieve possibly usable organs from the dead -- and hospitals sometimes too full even when they could. Deceased donor transplants -- the most common kind -- dropped by about half in the U.S. and 90% in France from late February into early April, researchers reported Monday in the journal Lancet. Transplants from living donors had a similarly staggering dive, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, which runs the U.S. transplant system.
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| US official tells Iran to send plane for prisoner exchange Posted: 11 May 2020 01:12 PM PDT  The United States and Iran clashed Monday on the prospect of a prisoner swap, with a US official mockingly urging the adversary to send a plane to repatriate its citizens. An Iranian government spokesman said Sunday that Tehran had offered "some time ago" to exchange all Iranian and US prisoners but was waiting for a response from the United States. "We have 11 of your citizens who are illegal aliens who we have been trying to return to your country," tweeted Cuccinelli, who is known for his hardline views against immigration.
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| Massachusetts deaths top 5,000 as governor weighs reopening Posted: 11 May 2020 01:05 PM PDT  With states across the country beginning to reopen businesses, Massachusetts' governor is facing mounting pressure to follow suit even as coronavirus deaths reached another grim milestone. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker recently allowed golf courses to open after an outcry and gun shops began selling again after owners sued. Now, with virus deaths topping 5,000, state leaders and health experts are urging restraint amid growing angst among businesses owners and residents over when and how the economic restrictions will be lifted.
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| New coronavirus test is imperfect step toward mass screening Posted: 11 May 2020 12:52 PM PDT  A new type of coronavirus test offers a cheaper, quicker way to screen for infections, moving the U.S. toward the kind of mass screening that experts say is essential to returning millions of Americans to school and work. It is less accurate than the current gold standard for testing and can only be run on specialized equipment. "It is too early to tell," said lab researcher Patricia Simner of Johns Hopkins University, assessing the test's impact.
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| White House recommends tests for all nursing home residents Posted: 11 May 2020 12:37 PM PDT  With deaths mounting at the nation's nursing homes, the White House strongly recommended to governors Monday that all residents and staff at such facilities be tested for the coronavirus in the next two weeks. Why the government is not ordering testing at the nation's more than 15,000 nursing homes was unclear. Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus task force, told governors on a video conference call that it's the federal government's strong recommendation that such testing be done.
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| Trump tells Iraq's new PM: US willing to give economic help Posted: 11 May 2020 12:35 PM PDT  President Donald Trump said in a phone call to Iraq's new prime minister that the U.S. was willing to provide Iraq with economic assistance, according to an Iraqi government statement on Monday, as the country faces a severe financial crisis brought on by falling oil prices. Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who was sworn in by Iraqi lawmakers last week ending five months of a leadership vacuum, received a call from Trump, the statement said, ahead of much anticipated talks next month that are expected to shape future Baghdad-Washington ties. Trump congratulated al-Kadhimi for his new post, the statement said, and stressed the U.S. desire to strengthen bilateral relations and "provide the necessary economic assistance to support the Iraqi economy."
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| WFP USA welcomes distinguished international development leader and Islamic Relief USA president Anwar Khan to its Board of Directors Posted: 11 May 2020 12:08 PM PDT  Khan will support WFP USA's advocacy and fundraising on behalf of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). In the field of humanitarian and development assistance for more than 20 years, Mr.
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| A Coronavirus Mystery Explained: Moscow Has 1,700 Extra Deaths Posted: 11 May 2020 11:58 AM PDT  MOSCOW -- Ever since the coronavirus took hold globally, researchers have been puzzled by Russia's mortality rate of only about 13 deaths per million, far below the world average of 36 in a country with an underfunded health system.With the arrival of data for April, however, the mystery appears to be clearing up.Data released by Moscow's city government Friday shows that the number of overall registered deaths in the Russian capital in April exceeded the five-year average for the same period by more than 1,700. That total is far higher than the official COVID-19 death count of 642 -- an indication of significant underreporting by the authorities.A similar picture has been observed in many other countries. In neighboring Belarus, for example -- where the authoritarian leader Aleksandr G. Lukashenko has rejected calls for a lockdown as "frenzy and psychosis" -- the reported death rate is about 10 per million. In Mexico, officials have recorded more than three times as many deaths in the capital as the government has acknowledged."Mortality figures in Moscow seem to be much higher than average for Aprils over the last decade," said Tatiana N. Mikhailova, a senior researcher at the Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration in Moscow. "One thing is clear: The number of COVID-19 victims is possibly almost three times higher than the official toll," she said in an interview, adding that additional calculations needed to be made to come up with a precise number.The new figures contrast sharply with the line that has been peddled by the Kremlin.Speaking to President Vladimir Putin at the end of April, Anna Popova, the head of Russia's consumer rights and human well-being watchdog, boasted that the country's mortality rate was "among the lowest in the world." Russian state-run television channels have been relentlessly advertising the country's effort to fight the virus as superior to Western nations'.On Monday, claiming success at slowing the spread of the coronavirus despite a sharp rise in infections, Putin ordered the end of a nationwide "non-working period" in force since late March.Putin, speaking on state television shortly after health authorities reported the biggest one-day rise in infections, acknowledged that the pandemic had not yet been defeated but said it was now up regional governors to decide whether to lift or strengthen restrictions in their territories.While the official number of deaths attributed to the coronavirus in Russia stood at 1,124 for Moscow and 2,009 nationwide as of Monday, arriving at a more accurate estimate will be highly complicated.Thousands of people have left Moscow since the city government declared a lockdown in March, an exodus that would lower the number of deaths in the city. And many people could have died of other causes as at least 37 Moscow hospitals have been converted to treat only coronavirus patients.Overall, about 70% of coronavirus-related deaths have not been reported in Moscow and about 80% in the country's regions, said Aleksei I. Raksha, an independent demographer in Moscow. He was among the first to spot the April data, buried in an obscure government statistics website, as he has been studying mortality rates in the Russian capital and the country's regions and comparing them with official death tolls.The lower numbers, according to Raksha, can be attributed to the way that causes of death are registered in Russia."For most deaths, the registered cause will be the disease of the organ that directly caused it," he said in an interview. "This is the way the system has worked for a long time," he said, adding that he believes it is highly likely that the authorities at some level are manipulating this system to yield the result they want.Speaking to the Echo of Moscow radio station last week, Georgi A. Frank, a senior Russian coroner, acknowledged that health officials have wide leeway in registering causes of death."In a number of cases, COVID-19 might not be the main cause of death -- sometimes it can be just a background to the main disease," Frank said. "Of course, there can be some manipulations, but decent doctors never allow it."Russia reported its first coronavirus death March 19, when a 79-year-old woman died in Moscow. Shortly afterward, the death was reclassified as having resulted from a blood clot and the case was removed from the official COVID-19 death toll.More than 11,800 people died in Moscow this April, far more than during any other April since 1995, when Russia was engulfed in a post-Soviet economic crisis worse than the Great Depression. The number was posted by the Moscow government, which collects reports from the city's civil registration offices that record vital events, such as births, marriages and deaths.The death toll will be updated by the Russian State Statistics Service by the end of this month but is unlikely to change much. On average, the Russian capital has about 10,000 deaths each April.Being by far the busiest point of entry into the county, Moscow has been the first area in Russia to be hit by the coronavirus. Still, it has lagged behind most other European capitals, registering only a few deaths before the middle of April.Russian regions, in turn, have lagged behind Moscow. As of Monday morning, Moscow accounted for 52% of all reported coronavirus cases in Russia, with more than 109,000 people infected.An even clearer picture of the true coronavirus death toll is likely to be revealed in the mortality data for May, when the virus began to grip Russia in earnest, experts said. About 45 deaths and more than 5,000 new cases have been registered in Moscow daily over the past week.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Putin eases Russia's stay-at-home orders as cases soar Posted: 11 May 2020 11:55 AM PDT  President Vladimir Putin on Monday said stay-at-home orders for most workers in Russia would be eased this week even as the country registered a record increase in new coronavirus infections. Despite virus figures that suggest the pandemic in Russia shows no sign of slowing, Putin announced that the country's "non-working" period to slow the pandemic would end on Tuesday.
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| IMF approves $2.77 billion to help Egypt with virus fallout Posted: 11 May 2020 11:50 AM PDT  The International Monetary Fund has agreed to lend Egypt $2.77 billion in emergency assistance to deal with the economic fallout caused by the coronavirus pandemic, its executive board said Monday. Egyptian government officials had requested a one-year bailout loan package last month, as the historic economic shutdown takes a heavy toll on the Arab world's most populous country. "The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically disrupted people's lives, livelihoods, and economic conditions in Egypt … resulting in an urgent balance of payments need," said Geoffrey Okamoto, First Deputy Managing Director and acting Chair of the IMF.
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| China Is Defensive. The U.S. Is Absent. Can the Rest of the World Fill the Void? Posted: 11 May 2020 11:46 AM PDT  SYDNEY -- When Australia started pushing for a global inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, no other countries were on board, and officials had no idea how it would work or how harshly China might react.Europe soon joined the effort anyway, moving to take up the idea with the World Health Organization later this month. And Australia, in its newfound role as global catalyst, has become both a major target of Chinese anger and the sudden leader of a push to bolster international institutions that the United States has abandoned under President Donald Trump."We just want to know what happened so it doesn't happen again," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, describing his conversations with other nations.Confronting a once-in-a-generation crisis, the world's middle powers are urgently trying to revive the old norms of can-do multilateralism.Countries in Europe and Asia are forging new bonds on issues like public health and trade, planning for a future built on what they see as the pandemic's biggest lessons: that the risks of China's authoritarian government can no longer be denied, and that the United States cannot be relied on to lead when it's struggling to keep people alive and working, and its foreign policy is increasingly "America first."The middle-power dynamic may last only as long as the virus. But if it continues, it could offer an alternative to the decrees and demands of the world's two superpowers. Beyond the bluster of Washington and Beijing, a fluid working group has emerged, with a rotating cast of leaders that has the potential to challenge the bullying of China, fill the vacuums left by America, and do what no lesser power could do on its own."Australia is resetting the terms of engagement so we have more strategic freedom of action, and in order to do that, you need to build a coalition of like-minded nations," said Andrew Hastie, a backbencher in the Australian Parliament who leads its Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security."To act on the global stage as a middle power, you need to do it from a position of strength -- that includes strength in numbers," Hastie said.Morrison has insisted that his call for a global inquiry is not directed at any one country, but all available evidence points to China as the birthplace of the pandemic, which means Australia could hardly have chosen a more sensitive subject for its leap onto the world stage.China's leaders have made clear that they see criticism of their initial response to the coronavirus -- which included a cover-up that allowed the contagion to spread -- as a threat to Communist Party rule.Even a fact-finding mission appears to be too much for China's leadership. The country's ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, called the inquiry proposal -- which China is expected to block at the WHO -- a "dangerous" move that could lead to an economic boycott."If the mood is going from bad to worse," he said, "people would think 'Why should we go to such a country that is not so friendly to China?' The tourists may have second thoughts." He added that Chinese consumers might refuse to buy Australian wine and beef or to send their children to Australian universities.The economic pain, if actually meted out, could be severe. China is Australia's No. 1 export market, its largest source of international students and its most valuable market for tourism and agricultural products. On Sunday, the country's grain industry warned that China is threatening to place a hefty tariff on Australia's barley exports in what some members of parliament are describing as "payback."Australian officials, however, are betting that China will remain a major customer, including for the coal and iron ore it needs to spring back to life post pandemic. And they are convinced that the Australian public will tolerate some Chinese punishment if it means relying less on a country that, according to polls, it had already distrusted -- a negative view that is widely shared in Western Europe.The frustrations have been building for years. Under President Xi Jinping, China's hacking and intellectual property theft have increased.Communist Party proxies have tried to interfere in the domestic politics of Australia and other countries, while Beijing increasingly demands obedience across the globe -- leaving no room for either foreign companies or countries to question its policies.Peter Jennings, a former defense official and the executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said that COVID-19 had stripped away the last illusions of a benign China -- the idea that a country could do business with China without worrying much about how it was governed.By suppressing information about the virus when it appeared in Wuhan, China's government put on full display the dangers of its authoritarian system, not just for its own people but for the world. And instead of acknowledging its missteps, it has doubled down -- spreading conspiracy theories, insisting that its response be celebrated, and stridently attacking anyone who suggests otherwise."Our senior leaders, to use an Australian saying, have had a 'gutful' of China," Jennings said. "Frankly, I think they're just fed up."In such situations, Australia would usually turn to America. For the seven decades after the end of World War II, the United States was seen as a defender of transparency and cooperation.But relying on Washington for that kind of leadership seems impossible now. Much of the world views with disappointment and sadness an America laid low by the virus and Trump's erratic response.The president has shown little interest in working with any other country. He has said his administration is conducting its own investigation of China, but that move is widely seen as an effort to shift blame away from his own botched handling of the pandemic.Trump has also said he is temporarily halting funding to the WHO, and the United States did not contribute to a recent fundraising effort led by the European Union for research into vaccines.Further undermining U.S. credibility, Trump has floated outlandish treatments like disinfectants, while pushing an unsubstantiated theory that the virus originated in a Wuhan lab -- a claim that Australian intelligence officials discounted as unlikely."Normally, however imperfectly, America would also have mobilized the world," Kevin Rudd, a former Australian prime minister, wrote in a recent essay. "This time, in America's absence, nobody did."That void predates the pandemic. In 2018, after the United States had pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, 11 countries -- including Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico and Vietnam -- signed a trade pact of their own as a hedge against China. But COVID-19 has accelerated that interaction.Many middle-power countries have been swapping details of their responses, supporting shared solutions -- like vaccines -- and starting to look ahead.On Thursday night, Morrison joined a call with leaders from nations that are calling themselves "the first movers" -- countries that acted quickly against the pandemic and have flattened their curves of infection, including Austria, Denmark, Greece, Israel, Singapore and New Zealand.Australian officials have also been part of a weekly dialogue on the post-pandemic future with a group of countries that includes India, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. The United States is also involved, but notably as a participant, not the group's leader, said Rory Medcalf, a former diplomat and the head of the National Security College at the Australian National University.Historically, Australia, a country of 25 million people, has seen itself as too small to exert much influence on the world stage, though its economy is nearly as large as Russia's. In interviews, officials described an ingrained ambivalence competing with nascent confidence, built in large part on their sense that Australia has forged a track record of resistance and survival in relation to China -- one that much of the world could learn from.Australia was among the first countries, in 2018, to ban the Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE from supplying its 5G network. It has also passed sweeping foreign interference legislation.The push for a coronavirus inquiry, however, represents a leap up. The idea emerged, somewhat ad hoc, when Marise Payne, the foreign minister, announced it on a Sunday morning news show. She surprised the world.France's leader, Emmanuel Macron, initially told Morrison it was not yet time for an investigation, though he appears to have since come around to support the proposal.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised the idea, suggesting (incorrectly) that Australia was supporting a U.S. investigation, highlighting one of Australia's enduring obstacles: the informed perception that Morrison is too eager to please his ally Trump.Making the inquiry a reality may require more proof of independence and the kind of sustained, careful effort that Australia has yet to master."The real test will be: What does Australia do next?" Jennings said.He argued that if the proposal died at the WHO, Australia should create, pay for and lead an independent commission of investigators from all over the world.Ultimately, it is unclear just how much a group of middle-power countries without fixed leadership can accomplish. At some point, Australia and the other nations will have to decide whether to focus on reforming the old system or trying to build something new.Skepticism already surrounds the WHO. It has been accused by many countries, including the United States and Japan, of being too trusting of the Chinese government and of ignoring early warning signs of the pandemic from Taiwan, which China barred from the organization.Many of its critics believe the way out -- of the pandemic and the intensifying U.S.-China conflict -- may involve new forms of organization drawn from countries that are already trying to revive global cooperation to defeat a killer that does not respect national borders.Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, a federal lawmaker in Australia who has often been a tough critic of China, said the world needed to be bold and resist "business as usual.""For the rules-based international order to mean anything, it needs to be upheld," she said. "If the world doesn't respond and act now, when will it ever act?"This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Group says Iraqi women fighting to return home face hurdles Posted: 11 May 2020 11:24 AM PDT  Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi women who fled war and conflict are facing systemic inequalities in their fight to return to their homes, a rights report published Monday revealed about Iraq's internally displaced population. The Norwegian Refugee Council's findings show that up to 11% of Iraq's female internally displaced population are facing barriers that include the inability to access property, establish ownership and seek compensation for homes damaged during the war against the Islamic State. Sabaha Ahmad, 73, is one of thousands of internally displaced Iraqi women who say they are facing discriminatory practices as Iraq seeks to recover from years of conflict.
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| Coronavirus lockdown: Two hotels demolished in Nigeria 'for breach of rules' Posted: 11 May 2020 11:05 AM PDT  The managers of the two hotels in southern Nigeria's Rivers state deny that they broke the rules.
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| Guaidó advisers quit following bungled Venezuela raid Posted: 11 May 2020 10:36 AM PDT  Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó said Monday that two U.S.-based political advisers have resigned in the fallout from a failed incursion into the Caribbean nation led by a former-Green Beret aimed at capturing President Nicolás Maduro. Guaido said he accepted the resignations of Juan José Rendon and Sergio Vergara, who had signed an agreement for a mission to arrest Maduro with U.S. military veteran Jordan Goudreau. While that deal fell apart, Goudreau has taken responsibility for going ahead with a failed attack launched May 3 on a beach outside the capital, Caracas.
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| Release of Iranian scientist in doubt as US official 'calls BS' Posted: 11 May 2020 10:23 AM PDT  Homeland security questions whether Tehran wants return of Sirous AsgariA potential deal to release a renowned Iranian scientist from a US jail and return him to Iran appears to be in danger of breaking down after a senior US official questioned whether Tehran really wanted him returned.Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, claimed on Monday that Sirous Asgari had been freed by US authorities and would be able to return to Iran immediately if he tested negative for coronavirus.But his remarks were dismissed as "BS" by a senior US Department of Homeland Security official, who accused Iran of slow-walking a deal.A well-regarded materials scientist, Asgari was acquitted on charges of stealing US trade secrets but remains in immigration detention where he contracted the coronavirus.Zarif said on Monday that Asgari "has been acquitted of false charges and we have been very active in preparing the ground for his return. If his coronavirus is negative he could return on the first flight".Zarif's statement was reported on the margins of an Iranian parliament foreign and security committee meeting in Tehran.Speaking generally about the return of Iranian prisoners held in the US, Zarif said: "The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to exchange all Iranian prisoners in the United States and other countries, imprisoned under American pressure, with American prisoners in Iran."He repeated Iran's position that further talks with the US were not necessary for a prisoner swap between Iran and the US.But the US deputy secretary for homeland security, Ken Cuccinelli , accused Zarif of stalling over Asgari, tweeting: "We have been trying to return Sirous Asgari and you suddenly wake up and say you actually want him back. You say you want all your citizens back, I call BS. How about you put your money where your mouth is? We have 11 of your citizens which are illegal aliens who have been trying to return to your country."He proposed Zarif charter a plane and then the US would send all 11 Iranians back.He added: "If you have really been speaking the truth these last few weeks and you really want your citizens back then stop stalling and send the plane. The world is watching and expecting the usual outcome namely you will do nothing except keep talking."Asgari arrived in the US in 2017 with his wife and with valid passports and visas, but upon arrival he discovered he was being prosecuted by the US government for alleged violations of sanctions law.After his acquittal, he was kept in jail on the basis that his visa had expired. He had offered to buy his own flight ticket home, and it looked as if he was being held until the Iranians agreed to release Americans in Iranian custody.The US has been trying to secure the full release of a US Navy veteran, Michael White, who contracted coronavirus in jail and was then transferred to the Swiss embassy in Tehran. There was no direct swap of Asgari and White on the cards, but the progress on the cases is seen as entangled.In an interview with the Guardian in March, Asgari accused the US immigration authorities of leaving inmates to contract coronavirus in overcrowded and dirty prisons. He said: "The way Ice [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] looks at these people is not like they are human beings, but are objects to get rid of."A professor at the Sharif University of Technology, a public university in Tehran, said: "The way that they have been treating us is absolutely terrifying. I don't think many people in the US know what is happening inside this black box."
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| Atlanta-area DA, 3rd outside prosecutor, to take Arbery case Posted: 11 May 2020 10:04 AM PDT  Georgia's attorney general appointed a black district attorney from the Atlanta area Monday to take over the case of a white father and son charged with killing a black man, making her the third outside prosecutor in a slaying that's prompted a national outcry over suspicions that race played a role in delaying arrests. Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was fatally shot Feb. 23 by the men who told police they chased him because they believed he matched the appearance of a burglary suspect caught on surveillance video. Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, were arrested last week, more than two months later, after video of the shooting appeared online and provoked outrage.
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| Putin lifts Russia's shutdown, but keeps many restrictions Posted: 11 May 2020 09:57 AM PDT  President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared an end to a partial economic shutdown across Russia due to the coronavirus pandemic, but he said that many restrictions will remain in place. In a televised address to the nation, Putin said it will be up to regional governors in the far-flung country to determine what industrial plants could reopen starting Tuesday. "The nationwide nonworking regime is coming to an end," a somber-looking Putin said.
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| Gorsuch, likely key vote, seems to favor Oklahoma tribe Posted: 11 May 2020 09:23 AM PDT  Justice Neil Gorsuch appeared Monday to be a pivotal vote for the proposition that a large chunk of eastern Oklahoma remains an American Indian reservation, a question the Supreme Court failed to resolve a year ago. The justices heard arguments by phone in an appeal by a Native American man who claims state courts have no authority to try him for a crime committed on reservation land that belongs to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The reservation once encompassed 3 million acres (12,100 square kilometers), including most of Tulsa, the state's second-largest city.
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| Our species might have reached Europe earlier than thought Posted: 11 May 2020 08:24 AM PDT  Human bones from a Bulgarian cave suggest our species arrived in Europe thousands of years earlier than previously thought, sharing the continent much longer with Neanderthals. Scientists found four bone fragments and a tooth that detailed radiocarbon and DNA tests show are from four Homo sapiens, the oldest of which is dated to about 46,000 years ago, according to two studies published Monday in the journals Nature and Nature Ecology & Evolution. The previous oldest European human bone fragments were found in Romania.
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| Iran says it's ready for full prisoner swap with United States over coronavirus concerns Posted: 11 May 2020 07:53 AM PDT  If a swap goes ahead, it would be one of very few instances of cooperation in an otherwise deeply frayed U.S.-Iran relationship.
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| Iran says it's ready for full prisoner swap with United States over coronavirus concerns Posted: 11 May 2020 07:53 AM PDT If a swap goes ahead, it would be one of very few instances of cooperation in an otherwise deeply frayed U.S.-Iran relationship.
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| Calls to reopen German borders as Merkel urges discipline Posted: 11 May 2020 07:45 AM PDT  There are growing calls in Germany for the country's borders to be reopened. Germany began to lift its coronavirus lockdown three weeks ago and announced the end to most restrictions last week. But its borders with most neighbouring countries remain closed. Armin Laschet, the favourite to become the next leader of Angela Merkel's Christian Democrat party (CDU), called at the weekend for the border with France to be reopened. "This would be a good time to send a signal to our neighbors that we are striving for a common European response to the pandemic," Mr Laschet, who has emerged as a leading proponent of lifting the lockdown, said. But Horst Seehofer, the interior minister, has refused to consider reopening the borders , claiming the closure is "part of the reason for our success so far against the coronavirus". Germany has suspended free travel under the Schengen Agreement and closed most of its borders. The current closure order expires at the end of this week, but Mr Seehofer has held out little hope of reopening, despite growing pressure from across the German political spectrum. "Ensuring protection and open travel in the border regions as quickly as possible is a European responsibility,", Norbert Walter-Borjans, the leader of Mrs Merkel's main coalition partners, the centre-Left Social Democrats (SPD), said. "Here in Germany, we need the interior minister to come up with more creative solutions than a relapse into the thinking of last century." The closures have proved particularly unpopular in border regions where many people routinely commute between Germany and neighbouring countries for work and leisure. "Mr Seehofer must finally come up with a plan for the border regions that combines freedom of movement and health protection," said Anton Hofreiter of the opposition Green Party. The calls come as Mrs Merkel on Monday urged Germans to remain disciplined as lockdown measures are lifted. "We are in a new phase of the pandemic," the German chancellor said in a brief statement. "With all the loosening, we need the safety provided by people sticking to the basic requirements: that is, social distancing, wearing facemasks, and respect for one another. This is very important."
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| Virus rampages across vast Navajo lands, close-knit families Posted: 11 May 2020 07:37 AM PDT  The virus arrived on the reservation in early March, when late winter winds were still blowing off the mesas and temperatures at dawn were often barely above freezing. On a dirt road at the edge of the town, a hand-painted sign with red letters points the way: "Chilchinbeto Church of the Nazarene." From that church, COVID-19 took hold on the Navajo Nation, hopscotching across families and clans and churches and towns, and leaving the reservation with some of the highest infection rates in the U.S.
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| Syria's Assad replaces trade minister amid economic crisis Posted: 11 May 2020 07:30 AM PDT |
| AIDS deaths could double in sub-Saharan Africa due to COVID-19: UN Posted: 11 May 2020 07:27 AM PDT  The number of deaths from AIDS-related illnesses in sub-Saharan Africa could double if the provision of healthcare to HIV sufferers is disrupted during the coronavirus crisis, the United Nations said Monday. A six-month disruption of antiretroviral therapy due to the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to more than 500,000 extra deaths in the region in 2020-2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UNAIDS said in a joint statement. In 2018 -- the latest figures given -- an estimated 470,000 people died of AIDS-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.
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| Vladimir Putin ends Russia's partial economic shutdown Posted: 11 May 2020 07:00 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared an end to a nationwide partial economic shutdown but noted that some restrictions will remain. Putin, speaking in a televised address to the nation Monday, said that it will be up to regional governors in the far-flung Russian Federation to determine what industrial plants could reopen starting Tuesday. He emphasised that it's essential to preserve jobs and keep the economy running provided that workers strictly observe sanitary norms. Putin ordered the economic shutdown in late March, although key industrial plants and some other sectors have been allowed to continue operating. Most Russians have been ordered to stay home, except for visits to nearby shops, pharmacies and visits to doctors. Moscow will allow all of its industrial plants and construction sites to resume work starting Tuesday, and Putin said other regions may follow the example. Non-food stores, hairdressers, car dealers and most other enterprises in the services sector remain shut. Putin emphasised that the restrictions must be lifted gradually to avoid triggering a new wave of contagion.
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| Pandemic upends life on isolated, idyllic Galapagos Islands Posted: 11 May 2020 06:51 AM PDT  Before the coronavirus, sudden life-threatening ailments among tourists, fishermen and others on the Galapagos Islands were considered so rare that hospitals didn't have a single intensive care unit bed. Now, officials are racing to equip medical teams on the remote islands with breathing machines while also trying to stanch an economic crisis that has left many of the 30,000 residents jobless. For seven weeks now, not a single tourist has arrived at the UNESCO World Heritage site that inspired Charles Darwin.
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| UK Brexit negotiators to tell EU that fisheries cannot be part of free trade agreement Posted: 11 May 2020 06:34 AM PDT  British Brexit negotiators will tell the European Union that a new fisheries agreement cannot be part of a free trade deal with Brussels during divisive talks that risk derailing the delicate negotiations this week. The UK will rebuff EU demands that the fisheries agreement, which both sides pledged to do their best to seal by July, be subject to the same governance mechanism that would police and enforce commitments in the free trade agreement. The British position sets David Frost, the UK's top Brexit official, on a collision course with Michel Barnier as three days of talks over continued access to British waters for the EU fleet begin on Tuesday. British officials have submitted a legal negotiating text setting out its vision for a Norway style fishing agreement with catch limits agreed on an annual basis. Michel Barnier accused the UK of wasting time after the last round of talks ended in bad-tempered frustration. "Our position on fish is reasonable and straightforward. We want a separate fisheries framework agreement which reflects our rights under international law and which provides for access and sharing opportunities based on the scientific principle of zonal attachment, with sustainability at its core," a UK official said. The Norway-style agreement risks infuriating Mr Barnier, The EU negotiator has warned Brussels will not agree a free trade deal without a fisheries agreement. Mr Barnier is also adamant that any fishing agreement cannot be renegotiated every year and must be for the long-term. Annual negotiations on fish alone would give the UK more leverage in talks than it would have in the trade negotiations. France has called for the fisheries agreement to last for up to 25 years. The EU has demanded continued reciprocal access to UK waters under "existing conditions". UK sources close to the negotiations reject that as simply continuing the Common Fisheries Policy. The CFP is based on historic catch shares that date back to the 1970s and 1980s, which disadvantage British fishermen. More fish are now in UK waters because of climate change and zonal attachment more accurately represents that than the historic catch system. The British insistence that the legal text not be shared with EU member states has angered ambassadors, as have warnings from London that the UK could walk away from the talks in July, unless the EU caves on its demands. EU ambassadors instructed Mr Barnier to hold firm at a meeting in Brussels last week. UK officials believe that the EU is in breach of the Political Declaration, the non-binding aspirational document that sets out the terms of the negotiations, which is an accusation regularly levelled at the British by Brussels. "The Political Declaration clearly sets out that an agreement on fish should be in force by July - just over two months away," a UK spokesman said. "Yet the EU continues to push for one single overarching agreement, despite that clearly being at odds with the Political Declaration, which envisages a separate agreement on fisheries." EU sources said that the Political Declaration was clear the fisheries deal would be part of an overarching economic partnership. British negotiators are pinning their hopes on the EU's national leaders, such as Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, to intervene in the deadlocked talks in June and break the impasse. EU diplomats warned that no such political intervention would be forthcoming. A high level meeting is planned for June by both sides where progress towards the agreement, which must be finished by the end of the year unless the transition period is extended, will be evaluated. Downing Street insists that the transition period will not be extended under any circumstances, despite the coronavirus pandemic slowing negotiations and forcing them online. Failure to reach a deal in time will mean the UK and EU trading on far less advantageous WTO terms and, according to the Withdrawal Agreement, an extension of up to two years can only be asked for until July.
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| What you need to know today about the virus outbreak Posted: 11 May 2020 06:31 AM PDT  The White House is requiring everyone who enters the West Wing to wear a mask or face covering after coronavirus scares near President Donald Trump, spotlighting the challenge Trump faces in instilling confidence in a nation reeling from the pandemic. The directive comes after two known cases of COVID-19 among staffers in one of the most-protected complexes in America sent three of the nation's top medical experts into quarantine and Vice President Mike Pence into "self-isolation." The scare comes as the White House this week is emphasizing to the American people the steps being taken to assure their safety — in hopes that will coax them to resume normal activities.
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| Study: Virus death toll in NYC worse than official tally Posted: 11 May 2020 06:25 AM PDT  New York City's death toll from the coronavirus may be thousands of fatalities worse than the tally kept by the city and state, according to an analysis released Monday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public fear over contracting the virus and the enormous strain on hospitals might have led to delays in people seeking or receiving lifesaving care for unrelated conditions like heart disease or diabetes. "Tracking excess mortality is important to understanding the contribution to the death rate from both COVID-19 disease and the lack of availability of care for non-COVID conditions," the report said.
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| Merkel: We must stick to basic rules even as coronavirus lockdown eases Posted: 11 May 2020 06:10 AM PDT |
| Young protester shot dead as Iraq's anti-government demonstrations are plunged back into violence Posted: 11 May 2020 05:45 AM PDT  A 20-year-old protester was shot dead on Monday as thousands of young Iraqis took to the streets and resumed anti-government demonstrations. On Monday protesters gathered in southern and central Iraq, though the government blocked access to a bridge connecting Baghdad's Tahrir square, the focal point of the demonstrations, with the Green Zone where foreign embassies and government offices are based. Within hours of the protests resuming, a 20-year-old protester was shot in the head and later died in hospital. Iraqi officials suggested the protester was killed by supporters of a local political party with close ties to the Iranian regime. The violence came shortly after Iraq's newly appointed prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, ordered the release of detained protesters and vowed to protect them from brutality at the hands of security forces and militia groups. The protesters have already rejected Mr Kadhimi's leadership and are demanding a radical transformation of the Iraqi political system to eliminate corruption, reduce unemployment and improve public services. They are also vehemently opposed to Iran's growing influence over the Iraqi parliament and its security forces, following incidents where supporters of pro-Iran militia groups have attacked protesters. Mr Kadhimi has also sought to placate the demonstrators by reinstating a popular general whose surprise demotion under a previous government had been a key factor in the protests erupting. Lieutenant General Abdul Wahab al-Saadi was instrumental in Iraq's military operations against the Islamic State terror group, including the battle to retake Mosul, and is said to have close ties with Washington. He will now serve as head of counter-terrorism operations in Mr Kadhimi's new government. Human rights groups say up to 600 people were killed in Iraq's anti-government protests at the hands of the security forces. Many others have been injured by live ammunition and heavy tear gas cannisters, while there have also been allegations of torture against detained protesters. The protests were mostly put on hold after the global outbreak of coronavirus, with some youngsters turning their efforts towards making protective medical gear such as face masks. "The demonstration moved from the ground to social media but it will return to the field after the crisis ends...blood has [been spilled] in these demonstrations and we will not forget them," one protester, Hussein, told the Telegraph in a Whatsapp message.
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| U.S. to Accuse China of Trying to Hack Vaccine Data, as Virus Redirects Cyberattacks Posted: 11 May 2020 05:34 AM PDT  WASHINGTON -- The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are preparing to issue a warning that China's most skilled hackers and spies are working to steal American research in the crash effort to develop vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus. The efforts are part of a surge in cybertheft and attacks by nations seeking advantage in the pandemic.The warning comes as Israeli officials accuse Iran of mounting an effort in late April to cripple water supplies as Israelis were confined to their houses, though the government has offered no evidence to back its claim. More than a dozen countries have redeployed military and intelligence hackers to glean whatever they can about other nations' virus responses. Even U.S. allies like South Korea and nations that do not typically stand out for their cyber abilities, like Vietnam, have suddenly redirected their state-run hackers to focus on virus-related information, according to private security firms.A draft of the forthcoming public warning, which officials say is likely to be issued in the days to come, says China is seeking "valuable intellectual property and public health data through illicit means related to vaccines, treatments and testing." It focuses on cybertheft and action by "nontraditional actors," a euphemism for researchers and students the Trump administration says are being activated to steal data from inside academic and private laboratories.The decision to issue a specific accusation against China's state-run hacking teams, current and former officials said, is part of a broader deterrent strategy that also involves U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency. Under legal authorities that President Donald Trump issued nearly two years ago, they have the power to bore deeply into Chinese and other networks to mount proportional counterattacks. This would be similar to their effort 18 months ago to strike at Russian intelligence groups seeking to interfere in the 2018 midterm elections and to put malware in the Russian power grid as a warning to Moscow for its attacks on U.S. utilities.But it is unclear exactly what the U.S. has done, if anything, to send a similar shot across the bow to the Chinese hacking groups, including those most closely tied to China's new Strategic Support Force, its equivalent of Cyber Command, the Ministry of State Security and other intelligence units.The forthcoming warning is also the latest iteration of a series of efforts by the Trump administration to blame China for being the source of the pandemic and exploiting its aftermath.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed this month that there was "enormous evidence" that the virus had come from a Chinese lab before backing off to say it had come from the "vicinity" of the lab in Wuhan. U.S. intelligence agencies say they have reached no conclusion on the issue, but public evidence points to a link between the outbreak's origins at a market in Wuhan and China's illegal wildlife trafficking.The State Department on Friday described a Chinese Twitter campaign to push false narratives and propaganda about the virus. Twitter executives have pushed back on the agency, noting that some of the Twitter accounts that the State Department cited were actually critical of Chinese state narratives.But it is the search for vaccines that has been a particular focus, federal officials say."China's long history of bad behavior in cyberspace is well documented, so it shouldn't surprise anyone they are going after the critical organizations involved in the nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic," said Christopher Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. He added that the agency would "defend our interests aggressively."Last week, the U.S. and Britain issued a joint warning that "health care bodies, pharmaceutical companies, academia, medical research organizations and local governments" had been targeted. While it named no specific countries -- or targets -- the wording was the kind used to describe the most active cyberoperators: Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.The hunt for spies seeking intellectual property has also accelerated. For months, FBI officials have been visiting major universities and presenting largely unclassified briefings about their vulnerabilities.But some of those academic leaders and student groups have pushed back, comparing the rising paranoia about stolen research to the worst days of the Red Scare era. They particularly objected when Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., declared last month on Fox News that it was "a scandal" that the U.S. had "trained so many of the Chinese Communist Party's brightest minds to go back to China."Security experts say that while there is a surge of attacks by Chinese hackers seeking an edge in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine, or even effective treatment, the Chinese are hardly alone in seeking to exploit the virus.Iranian hackers were also caught trying to get inside Gilead Sciences, the maker of remdesivir, the therapeutic drug approved 10 days ago by the Food and Drug Administration for clinical trials. Government officials and Gilead have refused to say if any element of the attack, which was first reported by Reuters, was successful.Israel's security advisers met last week for a classified session on a cyberattack on April 24 and 25, which authorities were calling an attempt to cut off water supplies to rural parts of the country. The Israeli news media has widely blamed the attack on Iran, though they have offered no evidence in public. The effort was detected fairly quickly and did no damage, authorities said.The rush to attribute the attack to Iran could be faulty. When a Saudi petrochemical plant was similarly attacked in 2017, Iran was presumed as the source of the effort to cause an industrial accident. It turned out to be coordinated from a Russian scientific institute.The coronavirus has created whole new classes of targets. In recent weeks, Vietnamese hackers have directed their campaigns against Chinese government officials running point on the virus, according to cybersecurity experts.South Korean hackers have taken aim at the World Health Organization and officials in North Korea, Japan and the U.S. The attacks appeared to be attempts to compromise email accounts, most likely as part of a broad effort to gather intelligence on virus containment and treatment, according to two security experts for private firms who said they were not authorized to speak publicly. If so, the moves suggest that even allies are suspicious of official government accounting of cases and deaths around the world.In interviews with a dozen current and former government officials and cybersecurity experts over the past month, many described a "free-for-all" that has spread even to countries with only rudimentary cyber ability."This is a global pandemic, but unfortunately countries are not treating it as a global problem," said Justin Fier, a former national security intelligence analyst who is now the director of cyberintelligence at Darktrace, a cybersecurity firm. "Everyone is conducting widespread intelligence gathering -- on pharmaceutical research, PPE orders, response -- to see who is making progress."The frequency of cyberattacks and the spectrum of targets are "astronomical, off the charts," Fier said.Even before the pandemic, the U.S. was becoming far more aggressive in pursuing cases that involved suspected Chinese efforts to steal intellectual property related to biological research. The Justice Department announced in January that it had charged Charles M. Lieber, the chairman of Harvard's Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, with making false statements related to his participation in China's Thousand Talents program to recruit scientific talent to the country.But Harvard also has a joint study program underway with a Chinese institute on coronavirus treatments and vaccines. And researchers have said that international cooperation will be vital if there is hope for a global vaccine, putting the expected national competitions to be first in tension with the need for a cooperative effort.At Google, security researchers identified more than a dozen nation-state hacking groups using virus-related emails to break into corporate networks, including some sent to U.S. government employees. Google did not identify the specific countries involved, but over the past eight weeks, several nation states -- some familiar, like Iran and China, and others not so familiar, like Vietnam and South Korea -- have taken advantage of softer security as millions of workers have suddenly been forced to work from home."The nature of the vulnerabilities and attacks has altered pretty radically with shelter-in-place," said Casey Ellis, founder of Bugcrowd, a security firm. In some cases, Ellis said, hackers were just "kicking a baby," hacking hospitals that were already overstretched and simply lacked the resources to prioritize cybersecurity.In other cases, they were targeting the tools that workers used to remotely access internal networks and encrypted virtual private networks, or VPNs, that allow employees to tunnel into corporate networks, to gain access to proprietary information."Governments that might otherwise be reluctant to target international public health organizations, hospitals and commercial organizations are crossing that line because there is such a thirst for knowledge and information," said John Hultquist, director of intelligence analysis at FireEye, a cybersecurity firm.Even Nigerian cybercriminals are getting in on the game: They recently started targeting businesses with coronavirus-themed email attacks to try to convince targets to wire them money, or to steal personal data that could fetch money on the dark web."These are not complex, but clever social engineering is getting them through," said Jen Miller-Osborn, deputy director of threat intelligence at Palo Alto Networks, a cybersecurity company. Because Nigerian hackers are less skilled, they lack the "opsec," or operational security, to cover their tracks.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| As Europe Reopens Schools, Relief Combines With Risk Posted: 11 May 2020 05:33 AM PDT  NEUSTRELITZ, Germany -- It was Lea Hammermeister's first day back at school after almost two months at home, and she was already preparing for a test.Not a math or physics test. A coronavirus test -- one she would administer herself.Hammermeister, a 17-year-old high school junior, entered the tent erected in the schoolyard along with some classmates -- all standing 6 feet apart -- and picked up a test kit. She inserted the swab deep into her throat, gagging slightly as instructed, then closed and labeled the sample before returning to class.It took less than three minutes. The results landed in her inbox overnight. A positive test would require staying home for two weeks. Hammermeister tested negative. She now wears a green sticker that allows her to move around the school without a mask -- until the next test four days later."I was very relieved," she said happily. In addition to feeling safe around her classmates and teachers, who all tested negative, she feels like less of a risk to her grandmother, who eats with the family every day.The self-administered test at the high school in Neustrelitz, a small town in northern Germany, is one of the more intriguing efforts in Europe as countries embark on a giant experiment in how to reopen schools, which have been shuttered for weeks and which are now being radically transformed by strict hygiene and distancing rules.Restarting schools is at the core of any plan to restart economies globally. If schools do not reopen, parents cannot go back to work. So how Germany and other countries that have led the way on many fronts handle this stage in the pandemic will provide an essential lesson for the rest of the world."Schools are the spine of our societies and economies," said Henry Tesch, headmaster of the school in northern Germany that is piloting the student tests. "Without schools, parents can't work and children are being robbed of precious learning time and, ultimately, a piece of their future."Countries across Asia have already been making the leap, experimenting with a variety of approaches. In China, students face temperature checks before they can enter schools, and cafeteria tables are outfitted with plastic dividers.In Sydney, Australia, schools are opening in staggered stages, holding classes one day a week for a quarter of the students from each grade. Hong Kong and Japan are trying similar phased reopenings. In Taiwan, classes have been in session since late February, but assemblies have been canceled and students are ordered to wear masks.For now, Europe is a patchwork of approaches and timetables -- a vast laboratory for how to safely operate an institution that is central to any meaningful resumption of public life.In Germany, which last week announced that it would reopen most aspects of its economy and allow all students back in coming weeks, class sizes have been cut in half. Hallways have become one-way systems. Breaks are staggered. Teachers wear masks and students are told to dress warmly because windows and doors are kept open for air circulation.Germany has been a leader in methodically slowing the spread of the virus and keeping the number of deaths relatively low. But that success is fragile, Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned.On Saturday, the reproduction factor -- the average number of people who get infected by every newly infected person -- which the government wants to stay below 1, crept back up to 1.1.With still so little known about the virus, many experts say mass testing is the only way to avoid the reopening of schools becoming a gamble.The school in Neustrelitz is still an exception. But by offering everyone including teachers and students free tests twice a week, it is zeroing in on a central question haunting all countries at this stage in the pandemic: Just how infectious are children?Evidence suggests that children are less likely to become seriously ill from COVID-19 than adults. But small numbers of children have become very sick and some have died, either from the respiratory failure that causes most adult deaths or from a newly recognized syndrome that causes acute inflammation in the heart.An even greater blind spot is transmission. Children often do not have symptoms, making it less likely that they are tested and harder to see whether or how they spread the virus.The prospect that schoolchildren, well-documented spreaders of the common flu, might also become super spreaders of the coronavirus, is the central dilemma for countries looking to reopen while avoiding a second wave of deadly infections. It means that school openings could pose real dangers."That's my biggest fear," said professor Michael Hoelscher, head of infectious diseases and tropical medicine at Munich University Hospital, who oversees a household study in Munich that hopes to shed light on transmission inside families.Manfred Prenzel, a prominent educationalist and member of a panel advising the German government on its reopening, said children represent the most intractable aspect of this pandemic: asymptomatic transmission.A study published in Germany last week by the country's best-known virologist and coronavirus expert, found that infected children carried the same amount of the virus as adults, suggesting they might be as infectious as adults."In the current situation, we have to warn against an unlimited reopening of schools and nurseries," concluded the study supervised by Christian Drosten at the Berlin-based Charite hospital.The Robert Koch Institute of public health, Germany's equivalent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, found that children get infected in roughly equal proportions to adults.Other studies, including two from China, suggest that children may be less contagious than adults, possibly because they often do not have the symptoms that help spread it, like a cough. Researchers in Iceland and the Netherlands did not identify a single case in which children brought the virus into their homes."The evidence is not yet conclusive," said Richard Pebody, team leader for high threat pathogens at the World Health Organization. His advice on school openings: "Do it very gradually and monitor the ongoing epidemiology very closely."That is easier said than done.For now, Europe's school openings are as varied as its countries. Denmark opened primary schools and nurseries first, reasoning that young children are the least at risk and the most dependent on parents, who need to return to work. Germany allowed older children back to school first because they are better able to comply with rules on masks and distancing.France is opening preschools on Monday before phasing in primary and middle school children later in the month. High school students will keep learning remotely for now.Belgium, Greece and Austria are all resuming lessons for select grades in coming weeks. Sweden never closed its schools but has put in place distancing and hygiene rules. Some hard-hit countries like Spain and Italy are not confident enough to open schools until the fall.One precondition for any country to open schools, epidemiologists say, is that community transmission rates be at manageable levels.Early evidence from countries that have led the way in lowering community transmission and opening schools looks hopeful, said Flemming Konradsen, director of the School of Global Health at the University of Copenhagen.Denmark, after letting younger children back more than three weeks ago, announced last week that the reproduction factor of the virus remained below 1. Older students will be allowed to return to school on Monday.Germany, Europe's biggest country, announced last week that all children would see the inside of a classroom again before the summer break after a two-week trial run in high schools had not stopped overall transmission numbers from falling. Officials hope the rise that was reported over the weekend was a blip instead of a sign that the loosening is already reviving the spread of the disease.Many argue the benefits of opening schools -- to economies, parents and the children themselves -- far outweigh the costs so long as hygiene rules are put in place. Disadvantaged children in particular suffer from being out, said Sophie Luthe, a social worker at a Berlin high school."We have been losing children; they just drop off the radar," Luthe said. "School is a control mechanism for everything from learning difficulties to child abuse."But teaching in the time of a pandemic comes with a host of challenges: In the high school in Neustrelitz, roughly a third of the teachers are out because they are older or at risk.There are not enough classrooms to allow all 1,000 students to come to class and still keep 6 feet apart, which means at most a third can be in school at any one time. Teachers often shuttle between classrooms, teaching two groups at once.At the same time, the virus is spurring innovation.Teachers in Denmark have moved a lot of their teaching outdoors. German schools, long behind on digital learning, have seen their technology budgets increase overnight."Corona is exposing all our problems," Tesch, the headmaster in Neustrelitz, said. "It's an opportunity to rethink our schools and experiment."That is why he did not hesitate when an old friend, who co-founded a local biotechnology company, offered the school free tests for a pilot. Tesch said he hoped the testing would allow him to increase class sizes safely and restart activities like sports and the orchestra.Many experts advocate more testing in schools, but so far it remains the exception. Luxembourg, tiny and wealthy, tested all 8,500 of its high school seniors before opening schools to them last Monday.Some students and teachers in Neustrelitz were skeptical when they first heard that the school would offer voluntary biweekly tests."I didn't want to do it at first," recalled Kimberly Arndt. "I thought, 'What if I test positive? I'd be pegged as the girl with corona.'"The incentive to test is high: A negative result allows students to wash and disinfect hands in bathrooms where lines are much shorter. Corona-negative students do not have to wear masks, either.Tesch acknowledges that his school is able to test only because he was offered free kits. Normally they would cost around 40 euros ($44) apiece. But the government, he said, should consider paying for similar testing at all schools."It's a lot of money," he said, "but it's cheaper than shutting down your economy."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| AP Courtside: High Court wraps up Day 4 of phone arguments Posted: 11 May 2020 05:30 AM PDT  The Supreme Court is holding its second week of arguments by telephone because of the coronavirus pandemic, with audio available live to audiences around the world. The highest profile cases are up this week, including two on Tuesday involving the potential release of President Donald Trump's tax returns. On Monday, the justices heard two cases, including one from California about the appropriate separation between church and state.
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| Germany's coronavirus reproduction rate rises amid loosening of lockdown Posted: 11 May 2020 05:24 AM PDT  Germany, which has taken steps to ease its lockdown measures, in recent days has seen its coronavirus reproduction rate increase.Germany's Robert Koch Institute said on Saturday the COVID-19 reproduction rate in the country rose to 1.1, and on Sunday, it was 1.13, BBC News reports. This number indicates how many other people a person with COVID-19 infects. BBC notes the number had mostly stayed below 1 in Germany for the past three weeks, and last Thursday, it was 0.65, CNN reports.This comes after German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced new steps to loosen lockdown restrictions, including allowing all shops to reopen. Restrictions will need to put back into place locally in areas where there's a surge in cases."I think we can safely state that the very first phase of the pandemic is behind us," Merkel said. "But we need to be very much aware we are still in the early phases and we'll be in it for the long haul."The Guardian reports that since the reproduction number "backdates known cases to their likely day of infection, around a week earlier," the rise wouldn't reflect the spread of COVID-19 immediately following the most recent steps, but it "could account for a new mood in the country following the first step of relaxation" in April. Although the Robert Koch Institute said there's a "degree of uncertainty" in the numbers, CNN reports, it noted this rise in the reproduction rate "makes it necessary to observe the development very closely over the coming days." It also said it's unclear at this time "whether the decreasing trend in the number of incident cases observed over the past few weeks will continue or whether case numbers will again increase." More stories from theweek.com The dark decade ahead The making of a coronavirus conspiracy theory Trump claims coronavirus numbers 'are going down almost everywhere.' That's not the case.
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| AP-NORC poll: Majority disapprove of coronavirus protests Posted: 11 May 2020 05:07 AM PDT  A majority of Americans disapprove of protests against restrictions aimed at preventing the spread the coronavirus, according to a new poll that also finds the still-expansive support for such limits — including restaurant closures and stay-at-home orders — has dipped in recent weeks. The new survey from the University of Chicago Divinity School and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 55% of Americans disapprove of the protests that have popped up in some states as some Americans begin chafing at public health measures that have decimated the global economy. Texas hair salon owner Shelley Luther was sentenced to seven days in jail last week after refusing to apologize to a judge for opening her salon in defiance of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's emergency orders.
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| What US states can learn from COVID-19 transition planning in Europe Posted: 11 May 2020 04:49 AM PDT  After a rapid rise in coronavirus cases throughout Europe – particularly Italy and Spain – tough public health measures "flattened the curve." That is, the spread of the virus slowed enough so fewer people would need treatment at the same time. Hospitals would not be overwhelmed; COVID-19 patients would do better. Now, two months after implementing some form of physical distancing, European governments are planning to reopen their economies. What can we learn from Europe's example? The three of us – two professors at the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. student, all specializing in health policy and politics – are trying to answer that question.According to the World Health Organization, these countries are focusing on four areas during their transitions. They are relaxing physical distancing in stages; they are tracking the spread of the disease better through improved testing and contact tracing; they are managing health systems; and they are putting in place social and economic policies to support the transition.What is certain: Everyday life in Europe will not return to normal anytime soon. Relaxing measures are intentionally slow and replete with requirements for individuals and businesses. In most countries, people will still work from home when possible. Vulnerable people will remain physically isolated, or will at least be urged to remain so. In many cases, businesses, stores, schools and places of worship will reopen, but at lower capacity. Where physical distancing is not possible, most countries are either requiring or advising people to wear masks. Relaxing distancing in stagesFrance is using a "traffic light" system to indicate how severe COVID-19 is in different locations. "Red" parts of the country will face continued lockdown. "Green" areas will have looser restrictions. Spain, following a similar strategy, is pairing different levels of restrictions with a ban on travel between regions, at least during the early stages of reopening. It's too soon to tell how well this will work, but it's likely the ability of the central government to coordinate actions in different regions and provide overall leadership will be key.To make decisions about reopening, the countries are using scientific data. To generate its traffic light map, France is evaluating the number of new cases, hospital capacity and local testing capacity. In other countries, as in some U.S. states, the science behind their reopening decisions is less clear.Governments remain cautious about moving between stages, however. Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, has spoken of the fragility of German success in managing the coronavirus and the risk of opening too quickly. Edouard Philippe, the prime minister of France, emphasized his country could move forward or backward between stages. Testing and tracing are keyGermany's early testing and relatively strong contact tracing capacity has likely slowed the spread of coronavirus. The country is conducting a large number of tests, even on those with only mild symptoms; this more comprehensive approach generates a more accurate picture of the escalation of the disease. The World Health Organization warns that countries with a high percentage of positive tests are probably missing other cases of coronavirus in the population. When it comes to tracking people exposed to the virus, some countries are emphasizing contact tracing by trained staff. Germany's goal is to establish a five-person team for every 20,000 people. This level of contact tracing is similar to recommendations made by U.S. experts, but so far, few states meet this target.European countries are also exploring technological solutions for tracking and managing the virus. Italy has selected an app that records proximity using Bluetooth technology. But the use of tech solutions is politically controversial and remains optional in many cases. Managing health system capacityEuropean governments are often willing, and sometimes able, to exert more control over their health systems than the United States. Across Europe, health care entities are consulting with government to plan capacity, and some governments, such as Spain, Italy and Denmark, have taken control of private providers and supplies. Governments in many countries decide when nonessential operations and treatments can resume, in contrast to the United States, where providers usually make the decision. They require hospitals to maintain a specific level of resources for COVID patients, like the number of ICU beds. They've also injected more funding into their health systems to make sure they can handle new waves of COVID-19 along with normal demands for health care. Contrast that with the U.S., where the pandemic has thrown our fragmented health care system into a recession while increasing differences between different hospitals. Supporting transitions through social policyFinally, European countries are addressing the pandemic through social policies. Governments facilitate discussions between employers and employees, set minimum standards for employment contracts and ensure income replacement for those who can't work due to physical distancing requirements. For people whose work brings them into contact with the coronavirus, the Danish government has defined COVID-19 as a work-related injury that qualifies for government compensation. Switzerland requires employers to allow high-risk employees several options: to work from home; to obtain replacement work; to adapt the workplace to allow physical distancing; or to release the person from work but continue to pay wages. The list goes on. In Italy, the government has taken steps to control the price of protective masks. Spain is giving them away free to the public. In France, it's now easier to obtain short-term unemployment insurance. Questions remain, however, about the sustainability of some of these measures. A difficult balanceEurope's debates about COVID-19 have many similarities with those in the United States. Governments have to balance economics with lifesaving public health actions. They don't always get it right. But key differences remain. The U.S. has long stood out for the fragmentation and market orientation of its health care system. Its goal has been efficiency and responsiveness to markets, not pandemic preparedness.European countries are opening, some as quickly as the brashest American states, but with far more testing, attention to health care capacity and data than the United States. For their citizens, that means it might go better for them than for Americans. [You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help. Read The Conversation's newsletter.]
Este artículo se vuelve a publicar de The Conversation, un medio digital sin fines de lucro dedicado a la diseminación de la experticia académica. Lee mas:
Holly Jarman serves on the Executive Board of the Michigan Public Health Institute. Scott L. Greer is Senior Expert Advisor on Health Systems Governance to the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and is currently advising the United States federal government. Sarah Rozenblum does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| Africa's Sahel becomes latest al-Qaeda-IS battleground Posted: 11 May 2020 04:17 AM PDT  IS and al-Qaeda affiliates have already locked horns in other jihadists hotspots.
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| 'Coronavirus hairstyle' spikes in popularity in East Africa Posted: 11 May 2020 02:50 AM PDT  The coronavirus has revived a hairstyle in East Africa, one with braided spikes that echo the virus' distinctive shape. The hairstyle had gone out of fashion in recent years as imported real and synthetic hair from India, China and Brazil began to flood the market and demand by local women increased. Pictures of the flowing or braided imported styles are tacked up in beauty salons across much of Africa.
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| Pandemic creates electoral uncertainty for Trump, Democrats Posted: 11 May 2020 02:07 AM PDT  President Donald Trump's reelection is facing growing headwinds less than six months before Election Day. Coronavirus has breached the White House walls. The U.S. unemployment rate is at a 90-year high.
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| Iraq's new prime minister reinstates popular general to head of counter-terrorism Posted: 11 May 2020 02:06 AM PDT  Iraq's newly confirmed prime minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi announced the reinstatement of a top general whose sacking in September sparked a wave of protests across the country. Speaking on state television on Saturday, Mr Kadhimi said that General Abdul Wahab Al-Saadi would be reinstated and promoted to head of the country's elite Counter-Terrorism Services. In an olive branch to protesters, Mr Kadhimi also announced the release of those arrested at demonstrations which have flared up in cities across the country since October. He promised investigations into the deaths of hundreds of protesters killed in those demonstrations. Mr Saadi, a national hero from the country's battles with Islamic State, is widely regarded as being close to the US. His sacking in September was interpreted by many as an indication of Iran's growing influence over Baghdad. Hours after the announcement, protesters took to streets in cities across the country. Yet what started as simple demonstrations against Mr Saadi's removal quickly morphed into a widespread movement against the country's fledgling political system. An attempted clampdown by security forces and militias saw at least 600 people killed in the months that followed. The violence prompted the resignation of previous prime minister, Adil Abdul Mahdi. Sajad Jiyad, a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations, said that Mr Kadhimi's efforts were as much about reigning in security forces as they were about reaching out to the protest movement.
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| North Korea outbreak fear as Chinese border city locked down Posted: 11 May 2020 02:02 AM PDT  China has enforced a lockdown on a city bordering North Korea, raising suspicions about a coronavirus outbreak in the isolated country. Residential compounds have been closed and transportation shut down in Shulan, a city of 700,000 in the north-eastern province of Jilin, state broadcaster China Central Television reported on Sunday. Students who already had returned to school, were sent back home again to study, and the city's threat level has been raised from medium to high risk. As of Saturday, Jilin province had reported a total of 105 locally transmitted Covid-19 cases and 19 imported ones. There were 11 new coronavirus cases in Shulan on Saturday, local health authorities said. North Korea closed its borders in January when Covid-19 first began to take hold in China, and has consistently stated that nobody inside the country has been infected.
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| Are Pregnant Women Safe if They Catch the Coronavirus? New Research Raises Questions. Posted: 11 May 2020 01:14 AM PDT  On March 20, a 28-year-old pregnant woman arrived at Lausanne University Hospital hospital in Switzerland with a fever, fatigue, diarrhea and dry cough. She was given a fever and pain reducer and sent home. Two days later, she returned to the hospital with severe contractions and no improvement in her symptoms. After 10 hours of labor, she gave birth to a stillborn. The cause, researchers believe, was the novel coronavirus.Early studies of pregnant COVID-19 patients found surprisingly few negative outcomes. But two new case reports documenting stillbirths and maternal deaths have sparked discussion about what the medical community still has to learn. The two reports, published at the end of last month, are limited in size and scope. Experts cautioned that the most rigorous studies to date suggest little difference in outcomes for pregnant people with COVID-19 and the general population. But the reports do raise questions about what we still don't know about the virus, nearly months into a global pandemic."There are sort of known unknowns and unknown unknowns," said Neel Shah, an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School.Pregnant Women Turn to Home Births to Escape Virus"The overwhelming majority of people who are pregnant and become infected do well, as do their babies," he added. "The challenge… is there are a lot of people who are otherwise healthy, who get suddenly and unpredictably sick, and that's something we don't fully have a handle on yet."The Swiss study, published April 30 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, followed one woman from her COVID-19 diagnosis at 19 weeks pregnant through her labor and delivery two days later. The stillbirth, the authors write, "appears related to placental infection with SARS-CoV-2, supported by virological findings in the placenta." They suggest that the findings warrant further study to see if the coronavirus can cause similar adverse outcomes.A longer paper, published in the American Journal of Gynecology around the same time, follows nine pregnant women in Iran selected for their known negative outcomes with COVID-19. At the time of publication, seven of the nine women had died, one was critically ill and ventilator-dependent, and one had recovered. None of the women had pre-existing comorbidities, and all had worse outcomes than their other household members.The researchers argue that, while we still don't know whether mortality is greater in pregnant people than in the general population, the results should prompt the reinvestigation of any guidelines that "might be potentially construed as providing yet unproven reassurance of the absolute absence of death among pregnant women with COVID-19 disease.""The fatal cases reported herein demonstrate [the maternal mortality rate] is not zero, and should inspire caution against complacency and guide restraint in rushing estimates of relative or attributable risk with pregnancy," they wrote.But Christopher Zahn, the vice president of practice activities for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said the results should be taken with a grain of salt. He pointed to other, larger studies out of New York and China that found no significant difference in outcomes between pregnant people and the general population, and cautioned against "over-concluding" based on select case reports."We certainly recognize that pregnant women can get severely ill," he said. "But what we need to look at from a guidance perspective is the population, not the individual."In fact, 16 reports spanning 154 COVID-positive pregnant women and 118 newborns show strikingly few cases of critical outcomes, according to the study published in AJOG. A study of nine pregnant women in Wuhan, China, for example, found that none of the women required mechanical ventilation or respiratory support. A study of 43 pregnant women in New York found that the severity of the disease matched those found in non-pregnant individuals. The findings are particularly striking given that pregnant people were found to be at greater risk of dying from H1N1, known as swine flu, and SARS, another coronavirus. The low rate of maternal mortality associated with COVID-19, the Iranian researchers wrote, is "unexpected and further inconsistent with data documenting severe disease and death among similarly aged adults who are not pregnant and of low-risk." Currently, most major medical associations suggest pregnant people and new parents follow general sanitation protocols, practice social distancing, and wear a face covering if they choose to breastfeed. (Face coverings for infants are not recommended.) Patients with known cases of COVID-19 may have to be separated from their newborn for a period of time to prevent transmission.Shah said it could be a year before we have accurate data on how exactly the virus affects maternal and fetal outcomes."For now, the important thing is we approach this with both humility and empathy," he said. "We have to be able to update our priors when we get new information.""A couple weeks ago, there was no evidence that a mom could pass the virus to a baby, and now there is maybe some evidence," he added. "What that really means for people who are pregnant and trying to conceive is that they should take extra precautions."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| African nations seek their own solutions in virus crisis Posted: 11 May 2020 12:54 AM PDT  A loud hiss and grunt come from a green bag pressing air through a tube, as Senegalese researchers work to develop a prototype ventilator that could cost a mere $160 each instead of tens of thousands of dollars. Complicating the task in Africa is the fact that the peak in coronavirus cases for the continent' is expected to come later than in Europe and the United States, well after dozens of other countries have bought out available supplies. Many hope that these efforts to develop ventilators, personal protective equipment, sanitizers and quick-result antibody tests will lead to more independent solutions for future health crises.
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