| Hard Brexit more likely because of coronavirus and lack of progress in talks, says German foreign minister Posted: 08 May 2020 07:57 PM PDT  A hard Brexit is more likely due to the coronavirus crisis because Britain and the European Union have made so little progress in talks, Germany's foreign minister has said. Heiko Maas said that negotiations between Britain and the EU so far on the future trade relationship had yielded few gains with the UK disregarding the political declaration, which he said was "simply not on". Britain left the EU in January, and talks with the bloc are now focused on setting new trading terms from 2021, when London's status-quo transition period ends. However, the talks quickly hit an impasse when negotiations resumed last month, according to diplomats and officials. "It's worrying that Britain is moving further away from our jointly agreed political declaration on key issues in the negotiations," Mr Maas told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. "It's simply not on, because the negotiations are a complete package as it's laid out in the political declaration." Mr Maas said there was currently neither common ground on how to shape a comprehensive trade deal or on whether to extend the negotiation period beyond the end of the year. "The British government is still refusing to extend the deadline," Mr Maas said. "If it stays that way, we will have to deal with Brexit in addition to the coronavirus at the turn of the year." Simon Coveney, Ireland's foreign minister, said on Friday that the coronavirus pandemic had made an already difficult timeline for a British-European Union trade deal "virtually impossible" and that it would make sense to seek more time.
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| Germany sees increased risk of hard Brexit if Britain refuses to extend deadline Posted: 08 May 2020 07:00 PM PDT |
| Virus threat forces Russia to curb WWII celebrations Posted: 08 May 2020 06:37 PM PDT  Russia will hold only muted celebrations on Saturday for the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II after President Vladimir Putin postponed a Red Square parade due to the coronavirus pandemic. The president will now give a 20-minute speech at a war memorial beside the Kremlin walls, an unprecedented move, instead of presiding over a traditional parade featuring thousands of troops and military equipment. Russia has become Europe's hotspot in the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 10,000 new cases a day over the last six days, forcing the authorities to rein in their plans.
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| U.S. lawmakers urge support for Taiwan at WHO, amid COVID-19 fight -sources Posted: 08 May 2020 05:55 PM PDT |
| No charges for family of boy who drove car onto highway Posted: 08 May 2020 03:32 PM PDT  The family of a 5-year-old boy who drove the family car onto a Utah highway won't face criminal charges, authorities said Friday. Adrian Zamarripa was pulled over Monday by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper who spotted the SUV swerving on Interstate 15 in Ogden at 32 mph. He thought the driver might need medical attention.
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| AP Exclusive: Docs show top WH officials buried CDC report Posted: 08 May 2020 03:17 PM PDT  The decision to shelve detailed advice from the nation's top disease control experts for reopening communities during the coronavirus pandemic came from the highest levels of the White House, according to internal government emails obtained by The Associated Press. The files also show that after the AP reported Thursday that the guidance document had been buried, the Trump administration ordered key parts of it to be fast-tracked for approval. It included detailed "decision trees," or flow charts aimed at helping local leaders navigate the difficult decision of whether to reopen or remain closed.
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| Iran quake kills at least one, sparks panic in capital Posted: 08 May 2020 03:17 PM PDT  An earthquake struck early Friday near Iran's highest peak and jolted Tehran, killing at least one person and injuring more than 20 as people ran for their lives. The shallow 4.6 magnitude quake hit at 00:48 am (2018 GMT) near the city of Damavand, about 55 kilometres (34 miles) east of Tehran, the US Geological Survey said. It saw scores of residents of Tehran flee buildings for the safety of the capital's streets and parks, AFP journalists reported.
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| US objects to UN resolution on virus in dispute with China Posted: 08 May 2020 03:10 PM PDT  The United States on Friday objected to a proposed U.N. resolution on the coronavirus pandemic after diplomats said it had agreed to compromise language with China that didn't directly mention the World Health Organization, an issue of growing dispute between the world's two major economic powers. The U.S. objection to the Security Council resolution drafted by France and Tunisia reflects rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. It also leaves the U.N.'s most powerful body impotent on reacting to the greatest crisis facing the world — and unable to back Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' March 23 call for global cease-fires to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, which diplomats said all 15 Security Council members agree on and is the main point of the resolution.
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| Trump says 'no rush' on more aid as jobless crisis grows Posted: 08 May 2020 02:48 PM PDT  President Donald Trump said Friday he's in "no rush" to negotiate another financial rescue bill, even as the government reported that more than 20 million Americans lost their jobs last month due to economic upheaval caused by the coronavirus. The president's low-key approach came as the Labor Department reported the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression and as Democrats prepared to unveil what Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer calls a "Rooseveltian-style" aid package to shore up the economy and address the health crisis. "We've kind of paused as far as formal negotiations go," Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council told reporters Friday.
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| Colombian company creates bed that can double as coffin Posted: 08 May 2020 02:18 PM PDT  A Colombian advertising company is pitching a novel if morbid solution to shortages of hospital beds and coffins during the coronavirus pandemic: combine them. ABC Displays has created a cardboard bed with metal railings that designers say can double as a casket if a patient dies. Company manager Rodolfo Gómez said he was inspired to find a way to help after watching events unfold recently in nearby Ecuador.
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| US blocks vote on UN's bid for global ceasefire over reference to WHO Posted: 08 May 2020 02:07 PM PDT  Security council had spent weeks seeking resolution but Trump administration opposed mention of organizationThe US has blocked a vote on a UN security council resolution calling for a global ceasefire during the Covid-19 pandemic, because the Trump administration objected to an indirect reference to the World Health Organization.The security council has been wrangling for more than six weeks over the resolution, which was intended to demonstrate global support for the call for a ceasefire by the UN secretary general, António Guterres. The main source for the delay was the US refusal to endorse a resolution that urged support for the WHO's operations during the coronavirus pandemic.Donald Trump has blamed the WHO for the pandemic, claiming (without any supporting evidence) that it withheld information in the early days of the outbreak.China insisted that the resolution should include mention and endorsement of the WHO.On Thursday night, French diplomats thought they had engineered a compromise in which the resolution would mention UN "specialized health agencies" (an indirect, if clear, reference to the WHO).The Russian mission signaled that it wanted a clause calling for the lifting of sanctions that affected the delivery of medical supplies, a reference to US punitive measures imposed on Iran and Venezuela. However, most security council diplomats believed Moscow would withdraw the objection or abstain in a vote rather than risk isolation as the sole veto on the ceasefire resolution.On Thursday night, it appeared that the compromise resolution had the support of the US mission, but on Friday morning, that position switched and the US "broke silence" on the resolution, raising objection to the phrase "specialist health agencies", and blocking movement towards a vote."We understood that there was an agreement on this thing but it seems that they changed their mind," a western security council diplomat said."Obviously they have changed their mind within the American system so that wording is still not good enough for them," another diplomat close to the discussions said. "It might be that they just need a bit more time to settle it amongst themselves, or it might be that someone very high up has made a decision they don't want it, and therefore it won't happen. It is unclear at this moment, which one it is."A spokesperson for the US mission at the UN suggested that if the resolution was to mention the work of the WHO, it would have to include critical language about how China and the WHO have handled the pandemic."In our view, the council should either proceed with a resolution limited to support for a ceasefire, or a broadened resolution that fully addresses the need for renewed member state commitment to transparency and accountability in the context of Covid-19. Transparency and reliable data are essential to helping the world combat this ongoing pandemic, and the next one," the spokesperson said.While the force of the resolution would be primarily symbolic, it would have been symbolism at a crucial moment. Since Guterres made his call for a global ceasefire, armed factions in more than a dozen countries had observed a temporary truce. The absence of a resolution from the world's most powerful nations, however, undermines the secretary general's clout in his efforts to maintain those fragile ceasefires.Talks will continue next week at the security council to explore whether some other way around the impasse can be found.
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| Senate Fails to Override Trump's Veto of Iran War Powers Posted: 08 May 2020 01:54 PM PDT  The Senate failed to override President Trump's veto of legislation that would have prevented him from taking military action in Iran without congressional approval. On Thursday, the Senate voted 49-44 in favor of the override, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for it to be approved. Both chambers of Congress passed the bipartisan resolution earlier this year.
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| Senate Fails To Override President Trump Veto Of Iran War Powers Posted: 08 May 2020 01:54 PM PDT The Senate failed to override President Trump's veto of legislation that would have prevented him from taking military action in Iran without congressional approval. On Thursday, the Senate voted 49-44 in favor of the override, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for it to be approved. Both chambers of Congress passed the bipartisan resolution earlier this year.
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| Libya gov't warns of escalation after attacks near embassies Posted: 08 May 2020 12:36 PM PDT |
| Cuba, Russia, Saudi Arabia are repressive regimes. They don’t belong on U.N. Human Rights Council | Opinion Posted: 08 May 2020 12:23 PM PDT |
| Lawyers: Investigators recommend whistleblower is reinstated Posted: 08 May 2020 12:19 PM PDT  Federal investigators have found "reasonable grounds" that a government whistleblower was punished for speaking out against widespread use of an unproven drug that President Donald Trump touted as a remedy for COVID-19, his lawyers said Friday. Dr. Rick Bright headed the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a unit of Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on countermeasures to infectious diseases and bioterrorism. The OSC is an agency that investigates allegations of egregious personnel practices in government.
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| Virus restrictions reimposed amid patchwork re-openings Posted: 08 May 2020 11:36 AM PDT  As coronavirus-induced economic pain grew around the world, some U.S. states moved forward Friday with plans to reopen their economies, while European countries held muted commemorations to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II on the continent. Around the U.K., residents were encouraged to stand on their doorsteps and sing together while socially distanced to commemorate the Allies' victory over Nazi Germany. Meanwhile, South Korea, seen as a model for containing COVID-19, ordered nightclubs closed for a month and considered delaying a school restart after an uptick in coronavirus cases.
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| Police drop investigation into Brexit campaigners accused of breaching spending rules Posted: 08 May 2020 10:49 AM PDT  Police have dropped an investigation into two prominent Brexit campaigners accused of breaching spending rules during the referendum campaign. In 2018 the Electoral commission said that Alan Halsall, of Vote Leave, and Darren Grimes, founder of pro-Brexit youth group BeLeave, failed to declare a payment related to the campaign. The watchdog said that BeLeave "spent more than £675,000 with (Canadian data firm) Aggregate IQ under a common plan with Vote Leave". This spending took Vote Leave over its £7 million legal spending limit by almost £500,000. Vote Leave paid a £61,000 fine, but denied wrongdoing, while Mr Grimes won an appeal against his £20,000 fine in July. The Commission also referred the pair to the Metropolitan Police but on Friday it was revealed that the investigations had now been dropped. A spokesman for the Leave campaigners said: "The Metropolitan Police has written to Vote Leave board member Alan Halsall and BeLeave founder Darren Grimes to confirm that it will not be acting on allegations made against them by the Electoral Commission and various Remain campaigners. "This marks the end of a two-year ordeal for both individuals." Mr Grimes, 26, said the development called into question whether the Electoral Commission was "fit for purpose". He had insisted since the allegations were first made that he was "completely innocent" of making false declarations in relation to the £680,000 donation. In a statement, Mr Grimes, a former fashion student originally from County Durham, said: "The Metropolitan Police has found, after investigation and consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, that there is no case to be answered. "Once again the Electoral Commission has been found to be part of the mob, a quango out of control that isn't policing elections so much as punishing Leavers who have the temerity to win them. "My ordeal at the hands of the kangaroo court that is the Electoral Commission is now over, but questions must now be asked of whether that body is fit for purpose." Mr Halsall, the responsible person for Vote Leave, said he was "delighted to have been exonerated" and thanked the police for their "professional" investigation. "I was very disappointed that my colleagues at Vote Leave and myself were never given the opportunity of making our case in person to the Electoral Commission before being fined and reported to the police," he added. "It seems a rather unusual way of conducting an inquiry into such matters that only the so-called whistleblowers who made these allegations are interviewed by the regulator." A spokesman for the Met said an investigation into the Electoral Commission's allegations against Vote Leave and BeLeave, submitted on July 17 2018, was handed over in October to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). "On Tuesday, March 3 preliminary advice was received from the CPS," said the force spokesman. "This advice has now been duly considered and no further action will be taken."
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| Exclusive: Iran-linked hackers recently targeted coronavirus drugmaker Gilead - sources Posted: 08 May 2020 10:19 AM PDT  Hackers linked to Iran have targeted staff at U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc in recent weeks, according to publicly-available web archives reviewed by Reuters and three cybersecurity researchers, as the company races to deploy a treatment for the COVID-19 virus. In one case, a fake email login page designed to steal passwords was sent in April to a top Gilead executive involved in legal and corporate affairs, according to an archived version on a website used to scan for malicious web addresses. Ohad Zaidenberg, lead intelligence researcher at Israeli cybersecurity firm ClearSky, who closely tracks Iranian hacking activity and has investigated the attacks, said the attempt was part of an effort by an Iranian group to compromise email accounts of staff at the company using messages that impersonated journalists.
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| Coronavirus in Kenya: Fearing 'money heists' amid pandemic Posted: 08 May 2020 10:11 AM PDT  Kenyans are afraid that money set aside to tackle the virus is being misspent, writes Waihiga Mwaura.
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| Pakistan army: Roadside bomb in remote area kills 6 troops Posted: 08 May 2020 10:04 AM PDT |
| Amid pandemic, Pompeo to visit Israel for annexation talks Posted: 08 May 2020 09:58 AM PDT  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Israel next week for a brief visit amid the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown, a trip that's expected to focus on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to annex portions of the West Bank, the State Department said Friday. Pompeo will make the lightning trip to Jerusalem to see Netanyahu and his new coalition partner Benny Gantz on Wednesday as the Trump administration tries to return to business as normal by resuming governmental travel and reopening an economy devastated by the COVID-19 outbreak.
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| VP Pence's press secretary tests positive for coronavirus Posted: 08 May 2020 09:35 AM PDT  Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary has the coronavirus, the White House said Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide, said he was "not worried" about the virus spreading in the White House. Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president.
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| The importance of the coronavirus R rate in other countries across the globe Posted: 08 May 2020 09:27 AM PDT  In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has been praised for her realism and flexibility when it comes to using her country's reproduction rate to inform lockdown policies. During a press conference on April 16 she explained: "The whole evolution (of the rate) is based on the fact that we assume that we have an infection figure that we can monitor, that we can track and that we have more protection concepts and that, thanks to those, we can loosen restrictions. "But it is thin ice," as Mr Tschentscher (the Hamburg Mayor) said, "or a fragile situation, or really a situation where caution is the order of the day and not overconfidence". The Robert Koch Institute, the government's health agency, provides regular updates on the country's rate. On May 5, it stood at 0.71, slightly declining two days later to 0.65. Mrs Merkel's caution is reflected across the border in France, where the R has fluctuated as the country began easing lockdown measures. On May 1, Jerome Salomon, France's public health chief, said it had risen to between 0.6 and 0.7 on average from 0.5, due to the "progressive return to activity". But officials are not solely relying on the R, instead reviewing several indicators to decide when to loosen restrictions. At the end of April Spanish authorities said almost all areas of the country had a reproduction number below one, but that they would not consider easing restrictions unless this continues.
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| Merkel, Trump agree in phone call to keep memory of WW2 horrors alive Posted: 08 May 2020 09:22 AM PDT |
| Smart Education And Learning Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Age, By Component, By Learning Mode, By End User, By Region And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027 Posted: 08 May 2020 08:30 AM PDT  Smart Education And Learning Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Age, By Component (Hardware, Software, Service), By Learning Mode, By End User, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891723/?utm_source=PRN The global smart education and learning market size is expected to reach USD 680.1 billion by 2027. The market is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 17.9% from 2020 to 2027. Demand for smart education and learning solutions is increasing among the growing population in corporate and academic sectors, owing to benefits such as improved education quality and easy access to educational content. Increasing adoption of consumer electronics, such as smartphones, e-readers, laptops, and e-learning applications, has altered conventional education methodology and has enhanced the efficiency of an individual to learn. Additionally, there are enormous opportunities for advancements in the market, owing to improved internet accessibility.Also, the COVID - 19 outbreak has emerged an opportunity for the market with an increasing number of states and countries closing educational institutes. For instance, over 90.0% of the world's students are not attending their schools due to this pandemic, as mentioned by UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). Commonwealth of Learning (COL), an intergovernmental organization of The Commonwealth (Canada), has supported educational institutions and governments in building robust distance education solutions for quality e-learning practices. However, lack of awareness among end-users about the latest technologies and inadequate amount of resources for delivering quality education in developing regions is anticipated to hinder market growth.The simulation-based learning segment is anticipated to exhibit the highest CAGR because this mode enables corporate professional and educational institutions to create a realistic experience in a controlled environment.It also allows professionals and learners to practice, navigate, explore, and obtain more information through a virtual medium before they start working on real-life tasks.Growing awareness among people and the rising popularity of smart education are encouraging solution providers to invest in research and development for creating more reliable, better, and cost-effective solutions. Manufacturers are making substantial investments in developing new products for enhancing the user experience.Smart education and learning market report highlights:• Growing demand for smart educational practices can be accredited to factors, such as reducing expenses of online training, curbing geographic challenges in physically attending classes, and time constraints faced by aspirants• Increasing penetration of the Internet of Things (IoT), enhanced internet accessibility, and rapid adoption of mobile technology have encouraged users to adopt smart education and learning solutions• Innovative techniques, such as gamification, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), microlearning, and adaptive learning, which improve the overall educational process, are expected to drive the market over the projected period• North America accounted for the largest market share in 2019 owing to its large consumer base for e-learning methodsRead the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05891723/?utm_source=PRN About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Contact Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001
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| US says Russia working with Syria to send mercenaries to Libyan war Posted: 08 May 2020 08:23 AM PDT  The US believes Russia is working with Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, to send militia fighters and equipment to Libya, according to senior officials. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, US special envoy for Syria, Jim Jeffrey, said Libya's increasingly shadowy battlefield could get even more complicated. "We know that, certainly, the Russians are working with Assad to transfer militia fighters, possibly third country, possibly Syrian, to Libya, as well as equipment," he said. His comments came a day after a leaked UN report confirmed the presence of Russian and Syrian mercenaries operating in Libya in support of renegade military commander, Khalifa Haftar. The report revealed that Russian private military contractor, Wagner Group, has up to 1,200 mercenaries operating in Libya in support of General Haftar's forces, which are already backed by the UAE, Russia and Egypt. The report, seen by Reuters, is one of the first indications of the scale of Wagner's military operation in Libya's messy battlefield, as well as the first time the UN has confirmed the presence of the shadowy Russian mercenaries. Since 2014, the oil-rich North African country has been split between areas controlled by the internationally recognised Government of National Accord in Tripoli and the northwest, and territory held by Gen Haftar's eastern-based forces in Benghazi. For almost six years Gen Haftar's forces have been at war with a coalition of militias from the west of the country who support the government in Tripoli. Turkey is the only military backer of the Tripoli government that is currently trying to stave off Haftar's year-long offensive on the capital. The UAE and Egypt have long strengthened Haftar's forces with military equipment, including aircraft and helicopters, while Moscow provided private contractor forces. As the conflict has drawn on and involvement has increasingly become the stage for a struggle for power in the region, diplomats say both Turkey and the UAE have deployed drones and the use of mercenaries has increased, now seemingly including forces from Russia and Syria. Libya has been mired in chaos since a 2011 NATO intervention helped topple Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, and its battlefields increasingly populated with foreign fighters in a shadow-war. Russian mercenaries were first reported fighting alongside General Haftar's forces in Libya in 2018. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, however, insisted that those mercenaries do not represent the Russian government. Yet when General Haftar visited Moscow in 2018, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman with long-standing ties to Mr Putin and suspected owner of Wagner, was seen in the footage of the meeting, sitting near the Russian defence minister. Russia, which also backs Assad's government in Syria, has maintained a delicate balancing act in Libya, forging ties with both the UN-recognised government and with the rebel commander. But Moscow's patience with General Haftar began to run out earlier this year when he and his entourage in January abruptly left the much-anticipated cease-fire talks in Moscow mediated by Russia and Turkey without signing the deal. Henry Wooster, deputy assistant secretary at State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs also expressed increasing concern over the ties between the Libyan commander and Syria's president, who are both bitter enemies of Turkey and fighting Turkish-backed militant groups on their soil. "Haftar's establishment of so-called diplomatic relations with the Assad regime...is very much a part of the piece of the question of Syrian mercenaries, at least on his side of the equation," he said. While the leaked report also confirmed the presence of Syrian mercenaries in Libya fighting alongside Haftar's forces, Pro-Turkish Syrians are also known to be fighting with the Tripoli government, against General Haftar.
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| Poll: Most in US back curbing in-person worship amid virus Posted: 08 May 2020 08:00 AM PDT  While the White House looks ahead to reopening houses of worship, most Americans think in-person religious services should be barred or allowed only with limits during the coronavirus pandemic — and only about a third say that prohibiting in-person services violates religious freedom, a new poll finds. States have taken different approaches to resuming gatherings as the coronavirus continues to spread, raising tough questions for religious leaders and the faithful about the appropriate time to return. Among that group is 54-year-old Andre Harris of Chicago, a onetime Sunday school teacher who has shifted his routine from physical worship to the conference calls his church is holding during the pandemic.
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| Program that collects devices for COVID-19 patients expands Posted: 08 May 2020 07:48 AM PDT  Kaya Suner came up with a solution. The 19-year-old Rhode Island man figured out a way to recycle used smartphones and tablets, getting them into the hands of patients suffering from the virus so they can communicate with friends and family. "Kaya, you're 19, but you're a superstar, you're a hero," said Gov. Gina Raimondo at a mid-April news conference, after her own son donated an iPad to the cause.
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| Virus-hit Iran holds Friday prayers for first time in months Posted: 08 May 2020 06:00 AM PDT  Virus-hit Iran allowed worshippers to attend Friday prayers for the first time in more than two months, but the capital remains under restrictions amid the Middle East's deadliest coronavirus outbreak. The government on Friday urged Iranians to take social distancing "more seriously" as it announced more than 1,500 new cases of coronavirus infection in the Middle East's hardest-hit country. In order to contain the spread of the disease, Iran has taken various restrictive measures, without ever imposing a lockdown or quarantine.
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| White father, son charged with murder in Ahmaud Arbery case Posted: 08 May 2020 05:31 AM PDT  The white father and son stood quietly Friday as the judge read murder and aggravated assault charges against them in the fatal shooting of a black man who was running through their Georgia neighborhood. It was a moment that many in Ahmaud Arbery's community had waited more than two months for, as a series of prosecutors declined to bring charges against the men. Earlier in the day — on what would have been Arbery's 26th birthday — a boisterous crowd of several hundred people, most wearing masks to protect against the coronavirus, gathered outside the Glynn County courthouse for about 90 minutes and sang "Happy Birthday" in his honor.
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| Palestinians say Israel targeting prisoners' bank accounts Posted: 08 May 2020 05:26 AM PDT  Palestinian officials said Friday that Israel is forcing banks in the occupied West Bank to close accounts held by the families of prisoners in Israeli jails to prevent the Palestinian Authority from providing stipends to them. Israel has long objected to the Palestinian Authority's payments to the families of prisoners and those killed in the conflict, including militants, saying it rewards terrorism. The Palestinians view the payments as a social safety net for those living under decades of military occupation.
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| After weeks at sea, 277 Rohingya land in Bangladesh Posted: 08 May 2020 05:05 AM PDT |
| Russia is fast becoming a coronavirus epicenter, with health workers still reporting PPE shortages. Putin is already thinking about reopening. Posted: 08 May 2020 04:19 AM PDT  On Thursday, the country reported its largest one-day increase in new cases of 11,231 — yet President Putin already has his eyes on reopening.
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| UN: Live animal markets shouldn't be closed despite virus Posted: 08 May 2020 04:14 AM PDT  The World Health Organization said Friday that although a market in the Chinese city of Wuhan selling live animals likely played a significant role in the emergence of the new coronavirus, it does not recommend that such markets be shut down globally. In a press briefing, WHO food safety and animal diseases expert Peter Ben Embarek said live animal markets are critical to providing food and livelihoods for millions of people globally and that authorities should focus on improving them rather than outlawing them — even though they can sometimes spark epidemics in humans. "Food safety in these environments is rather difficult and therefore it's not surprising that sometimes we also have these events happening within markets," Ben Embarek said.
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| UN agency for Palestinians launches corona appeal Posted: 08 May 2020 04:03 AM PDT  The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) launched an emergency coronavirus appeal Friday, saying Palestinians across the Middle East were suffering a devastating socio-economic impact. While the number of Palestinian refugees infected with COVID-19 has so far been relatively low, they often work in informal sectors and are facing devastating economic repercussions from the crisis, UNRWA said. In the Gaza Strip, where the majority of the two million population are refugees, unemployment could jump from 50 to 70 percent due to the crisis, said Matthias Schmale, UNRWA's head in the Palestinian territory.
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| 'We just did our bit:' WWII vets recall war 75 years later Posted: 08 May 2020 03:58 AM PDT  Seventy-five years after World War II ended in Europe, The Associated Press spoke to veterans who endured mortal danger, oppression and fear. As they mark Victory in Europe Day on Friday, they also are dealing with loneliness brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. SURVIVING NORMANDY AND COVID-19 Tony Vaccaro is one of the few people alive who can claim to have survived the Battle of Normandy and COVID-19.
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| Russians seethe at lavish spending for VE Day celebrations amid epidemic Posted: 08 May 2020 03:36 AM PDT  Russians are seething at millions of rubles spent on fireworks and dispersing clouds for Victory Day celebrations while the government refuses to lend a helping hand to those hit by coronavirus lockdown. The festivities in Russia which mark the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 were going to be some of the most lavish in years but the Kremlin had to scale back the celebrations as the coronavirus epidemic swept through the country. With nearly 11,000 new cases reported on Friday, Russia now has Europe's fastest-growing rate in Covid-19 infections, which currently stand at 187,000. That has not stopped Moscow from going ahead with plans to set off expensive fireworks at 16 locations around the city. In a statement that drew countless angry comments online, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Thursday that the fireworks would be launched as planned and asked Muscovites to stay at home, warning of the risk of getting infected in public places. Moscow has paid a total of 34.8 million rubles (£400,000) to launch fireworks on several holidays in 2020, and it will spend £1.2 million sending jets in the air to disperse clouds with chemicals in order to ensure a clear sky, according to publicly available procurement contracts. The generous spending on fireworks follows recent statements by Kremlin officials who insisted that it was not expedient to hand out cash to millions of Russians who lost their incomes or businesses due to the epidemic. "The fireworks will go ahead and cost millions, and then (the authorities) will tell us that it's not okay to hand out cash to people but it's okay to spend money on the fireworks that no one is going to see," popular blogger Alexander Gorbunov said in a tweet. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, last month scrapped the military parade on Red Square where he was expected to host Chinese leader Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron, but he issued a decree last week to give the green light to a lavish flypast on Victory Day.
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| Stroll through the centuries and visit extinct civilizations. Posted: 08 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  This article is from ThrillistCredit: Sam Spicer/Moment/GettyPeople love to call the world apocalyptic, or dub any moderately empty city street a ghost town. But no matter what your friends' hashtags say, civilization doesn't just end after a period of social isolation. It takes more than that. Just ask the Mayans or the Romans. Lost cities offer glimpses into ancient civilizations that, either suddenly or over time, collapsed, often leaving artifacts intact and architecture fully preserved. Machu Pichuu might be the most famous, and we have yet to discover Atlantis, but the cities below are rife for discovery. You'll find accessible ruins to easily place on your bucket list and kingdoms so lost and isolated you never knew they existed. Some were decimated by disaster, others simply faded away. But all are worthy of exploring once our civilization's gears turn back on. MORE: The best way to hike Machu Picchu Credit: Maremagnum/Corbis Documentary/Getty Pompeii, ItalyYou know Pompeii, but until you see it, you don't really comprehend its magnitude. It was a thriving Roman city with wide stone streets, a forum peppered with temples devoted to Roman gods, lavish dwellings with opulent courtyards, and even takeout restaurants and brothels (the mark of any thriving city). But one fateful day, Mount Vesuvius erupted spewing hot ash and lava all over the city, burying it for centuries -- but perfectly preserving it in the process. It wasn't discovered until the 18th century, when a group of explorers began to dig in the area. What they found was a city frozen in time almost exactly as it was left nearly 2,000 years prior. "Lost" may not be the best term to describe Pompeii these days, but its accessibility makes it one formerly lost city that you can experience with minimal effort. Visitors -- approximately 2.5 million annually -- can roam the ancient streets, pop into the dwellings, and even visit the brothel where frescoes of the various, erm, menu options are still visible on the walls. It's the closest we can get to time travel. MORE: Since you're in Italy, hit up these gorgeous beaches Credit: Patchareeporn Sakoolchai/Moment/Getty Sukhothai, ThailandBangkok may be the current capital of Thailand, but it wasn't always this way. Back in the 13th century, when Thailand was still the Kingdom of Sukhothai, the ancient city of Sukhothai was at the country's center. At its height, it was an opulent tribute to the kingdom, with magnificent temples, palaces, monuments, and more. It rivaled other majestic cities of the time, like Angkor Wat in Cambodia or My Son in Vietnam, and its design has had a lasting impact on modern day Thai art and culture. As years went on and surrounding kingdoms shifted and changed, the grandeur and fame of Sukhothai began to diminish. It shrank in population and wealth, and was ultimately swallowed up by the kingdom of Ayutthaya, which eventually became modern Bangkok. Visitors can roam the vast complex of Buddhist temples, ruins, and crumbling structures, the entirety of which spans an impressive 17,000 acres. Credit: Rob Crandall/Shutterstock Tikal, GuatemalaTikal is one of the oldest known Mayan capitals. It rises out of the jungles of what is now northern Guatemala, and has since around 1,000 B.C. By the first century A.D., it was one of the top Mayan cities in a sprawling empire that covered what is now southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and parts of Honduras and El Salvador. Things started to turn funky for Tikal around 900 A.D. due to drought, disease, and warfare. Like many other Mayan cities, it shrank back into the foliage, laying in wait until the mid-1800s when Europeans stumbled upon it. Modern visitors can wander this UNESCO site to take in its sheer majesty and magnitude. Many of the temples, pyramids, platforms, and carvings are still intact, giving an eerily accurate depiction of what life must have been like in this ancient city. Just be advised: Central America is a hot trail for young backpackers toting teetree oil and Lonely Planet guidebooks, so don't be surprised if you're sharing your Tikal moment with a lot of white people wearing woven ponchos. MORE: When in Guatemala, make sure this idyllic lake is on your to-do list Credit: Peter Unger/Stone/Getty Petra, JordanGiven its strategic location near Jerusalem, Amman, Damascus, and the Red Sea, Petra hit the sweet spot for trading when it was built in the 4th century B.C. Sure, it was sacked a few times by some envious Greeks -- and later the Romans … then Byzantines, who eventually took over -- but really, what ancient city wasn't? Petra fell into ruin around the 8th century and was left abandoned, except for the Bedouin tribes people who continued to live in the ruins until the 1980s when the site was declared a World Heritage Site and the Jordanian government asked (erm, told) them to relocate. Dubbed The Rose City due to its pink-hued stones, it's now one of the Seven New Wonders of the World, so to call this a "lost" city is a bit of a misnomer. But up until 1812, when it was rediscovered by a Swiss explorer, it was definitely a forgotten empire. Today, the ancient architectural masterpiece is a key to helping solve some of the many mysteries of the region: For example, excavations have led to discoveries of Greek scrolls that date back to the Byzantine era. Credit: Antoine BOUREAU/Photononstop/Getty Persepolis, IranPersepolis, which translates to the City of Persians, ages back more than 7,000 years. It was the capital of the Persian empire, and one of the best examples of the magnitude and grandeur that the empire exuded over several centuries. Yet Iran's distant enough that it tends to elude many US travelers. As such, there's a good chance this mind-blowing site has flown under the radar of most Westerners. Located about 40 miles outside the Iranian city of Shiraz, Persepolis was the capital of an empire that touched three continents. It blanketed North Africa, India, and Southern Europe. While much of the magnificent city lays in crumbled ruin, it's hard to deny its once-overwhelming majesty. Picture sprawling palaces, ornamental stone facades, temples, and carvings. The lost city has become a symbol for Iranians. In fact, Persepolis was the birthplace of the Cyrus Cylinder (named for King Cyrus the Great), a text from about 539 B.C. that talks about religious and racial human rights. Despite being more than 2,500 it's still ahead of our time. Credit: Cartophil/Shutterstock Herculaneum, ItalyWhile everyone else is elbowing their way through Pompeii, you can skip the hordes by heading over to Herculaneum -- the other city that was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D., only to be remarkably preserved under layers and layers of volcanic ash. Most of the ash fell onto Pompeii, which was destroyed first, but Herculaneum, about 5 miles from modern Naples, was not far behind. The difference, however, is the type of volcanic material that covered Herculaneum left it, in many ways, even more pristine than Pompeii: Wooden door frames, for example, are still intact. So why isn't Herculaneum as well-known? Because it is so well-preserved, it is incredibly delicate and it's tough for archaeologists to excavate. Basically, there's more of Pompeii to explore. Still, visitors to Campagnia would be remiss to skip over this other snapshot of frozen Roman life. Credit: Photo by Benjawan Sittidech/Moment/Getty Bagan, MyanmarIf you've ever rifled through the pages of travel magazines, or seen any picture of Myanmar, you've likely seen a field of copper-colored temple pagodas speckling miles and miles of lush, verdant jungle. The dirt paths between the temples in Old Bagan leads to treasure after treasure of historical discovery. Many visitors come to Bagan to watch the sunset dip behind the mountains, bathing the temple field in liquid gold before turning the sky to a smudgy purple with silhouettes of hundreds of temples in the distance. You honestly cannot wax poetic about it enough. Bagan was the first dynasty in the history of Myanmar, which was at its height from the 11th to 13th centuries. Buddhims was the religion of the city, hence the hundreds of temples. At the end of the 13th century, wars with China eventually collapsed the Bagan dynasty. The kingdom faded into history, and all that was left was this sprawling sea of pagodas. It's a rich, miraculous bit of history hidden. Unfortunately, it's located in a region country plagued with atrocity whose continued ethnic violence makes seeing it in person a serious moral quandary year after year. MORE: These are the coolest places to visit in Southeast Asia Credit: Tarik Lebbadi/EyeEm/Getty Palenque, MexicoThe state of Chiapas is one of Mexico's most under-the-radar destinations in the country, and one of the most beautiful. It's a place of thick jungles, highland colonial cities, deep mystic traditions, canyons, and waterfalls. But one of the best kept secrets of Chiapas is the ancient Mayan city of Palenque. Shrouded in jungle and surrounded by mountains, the lost city was one of the most powerful in the Mayan world, rivaling Tikal in Guatemala. It's a sprawling complex of temples, palaces, and pavilions seemingly untouched by time and rising out of the jungle in true lost city splendor. Palenque was abandoned around the year 900 and was discovered by intrepid European explorers in the 18th century. Its hieroglyphics have been integral to the study of Mayan culture today. MORE: Everything you need to know before your first trip to Mexico Credit: Alexandre Morin-Laprise/Moment/Getty La Ciudad Perdida, ColombiaTucked deep in Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, this impressive site -- literally translated as Lost City -- was built more than 1,000 years ago, but only discovered in the 1970s. That means it's more than 600 years older than Machu Picchu, yet receives a fraction of its visitors. Getting to La Ciudad Perdida is a feat that starts in the city of Santa Marta. You need a licensed guide to get there, as it's a 29-mile hike through hot, steamy jungle. But those who put in the legwork are rewarded with an ancient, abandoned city that is believed to have been home to about 8,000 people. It was the seat of the Tairona kingdom, which swept this mountainous region. The ruins include terraced temples, walkways, and building remnants, all surrounded by the towering, lushly carpeted mountains, and its remoteness makes visitors feel like they've truly discovered one of the world's last remaining secrets. MORE: Discover the seemingly infinite beauty of Colombia Credit: Michael Hill/EyeEm/Getty Angkor Wat, CambodiaAny globe-trotting backpacker worth their prayer beads has made their rite of passage to Siem Reap, but there's so much more to Siem Reap than cheap hostels, street food, and general debauchery: namely, the city of Angkor Wat. The sprawling temple complex spans more than 400 acres, and is rumored to be the largest religious monument in the world. It started as a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, but around the 12th century it became a Buddhist site. Now the entire area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the most pristine embodiment of the archetypal "lost city." Picture crumbling facades chiseled with highly detailed characters, gnarled tree roots that strangle old stone columns, and mischievous monkeys that dart in and out of dark, secretive passages. Go at sunrise, when the entire main temple is reflected in the pool up front, for an experience that will sear itself into your memories. Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email, get Next Flight Out for more travel coverage, and subscribe here for our YouTube channel to get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.
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| The full-spectrum failure of the Trump revolution Posted: 08 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Remember when President Trump's surprise victory was going to herald a big change in the GOP? Gone were the days of a party focused on an agenda favored by big business and wealthy donors. Instead, Trump was a populist who would make it a "workers party," focused on the struggles of average Americans, who'd been slighted in recent decades by the economic policies and priorities of both parties. In foreign policy, meanwhile, he would put "America first," which meant ending endless wars around the globe and reorienting our actions to advance American interests, narrowly construed.Nearly three-and-a-half years into the Trump era, it's possible to take stock of the populist revolution Trump promised to lead, and the fact is that it has been a full-spectrum failure. The 45th president has been an immigration hardliner and he started a series of trade wars that have accomplished little beyond raising prices for imported goods. But beyond that, what do we have? Flagrant corruption, conflicts of interest, nepotism, inconstancy, incompetence, and a complete incapacity to speak and act as head of state — combined with harsher and dumber versions of the same policies any Republican elected in 2016 would have pursued.Now, I'll grant that this harsh judgment doesn't apply to everyone on the right. Both parties in Congress responded to the economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic by passing the CARES ACT, the largest economic aid package in history (though some Republican senators insisted on including provisions designed to discourage workers from intentionally getting laid off so they could collect generous unemployment benefits instead of working). When it comes to pushing the GOP in a more populist direction, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley likes to give speeches and hold hearings that resonate with economically populist themes (while loyally voting more than three quarters of the time for the president's anti-populist agenda). Florida Sen. Marco Rubio does much the same. And there's unquestionably a lot of ferment taking place among conservative writers and policy intellectuals, with the newly launched American Compass website and think tank the latest entry in a crowded field.It's possible that all of this conversation and debate could yield a shift in the party's priorities after Trump has left the scene. But for now, populist reform of the Republican Party is dead in the water.Consider what we've seen in economic policy during the Trump administration: A huge corporate tax cut; efforts across the executive branch to gut regulations on business; a push to reverse the Affordable Care Act that has never ceased, even in the face of a pandemic and mass unemployment that threatens to leave millions uninsured; and hostility to food stamps and a refusal to consider expanding the program, despite the severest economic downturn since the 1930s. This is a "workers party"? Only if you think workers benefit from government doing everything possible to maximize profits for big business while doing nothing to steer business decisions — and also that government must go out of its way to ensure that the safety net doesn't encourage those workers to become the parasitic layabouts they'd otherwise be predisposed to be.So much for populism.On the foreign policy front, things may be even worse. Trump promised to end the interminable wars that began in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and to make a fundamental change in our dealings with the world. The idea was that unlike neoconservatives and liberal internationalists who often favor military interventionism around the world, Trump would put "America first," by which he appeared to mean placing American interests at the center of policymaking. This would mark a shift from administrations of both parties taking their cues from supposed moral and geopolitical imperatives to use American military might to topple dictators and "spread democracy" — goals that had frequently ended up spreading chaos instead, and getting American soldiers bogged down in indecisive conflicts from North Africa to South Asia over the past two decades.And what have we actually gotten from the Trump administration in foreign policy? Nothing that could conceivably be described as good. As on the domestic side, new foreign policy think tanks have broadened debate inside the beltway. But policymaking itself has been an incoherent and ineffective mess.The president likes to talk about ending wars, but our troops remain in Afghanistan. And Syria. And Iraq. Trump's gambit to reach a deal with North Korea's Kim Jong Un has yielded nothing. Trump and members of his party like to talk tough about China, but that mainly appears motivated by domestic political considerations, including the need for a coronavirus scapegoat. Diplomacy around the world is barely functional because Trump's two atrocious secretaries of state (first Rex Tillerson and now Mike Pompeo) have hollowed out the diplomatic corps — and because Trump himself regularly and gratuitously insults allies while praising dictators in return for nothing at all.Perhaps most bizarrely of all, the Trump administration has gone out of its way to align the United States more one-sidedly than ever before with Israel and Saudi Arabia. This began with the president expanding American involvement in the Saudi war in Yemen and his decision to scuttle the Iran nuclear deal and impose fresh rounds of sanctions on Tehran. The latter, in particular, has accomplished less than nothing, with bilateral relations between the U.S. and Iran at something close to an all-time low. How any of this dithering and drift advances American interests is anyone's guess.So much for America first.Of course there is no guarantee that Trump will go down to defeat in November. Polarization and negative partisanship can accomplish an enormous amount. But if we had a more functional political system in which incumbents were judged honestly by their records, Trump would lose in a historic landslide. In addition to presiding over a pandemic that looks likely to leave more than 100,000 Americans dead and an economic downturn severe enough to send unemployment to heights not seen since the Great Depression, Trump has sold his party a bill of goods.That Republican voters appear not to care doesn't make it any less true.More stories from theweek.com Trump says he couldn't have exposed WWII vets to COVID-19 because the wind was blowing the wrong way A terrifying mechanical dog is now stalking a Singapore park to make sure people stay properly distant Star Wars is reportedly bringing back Boba Fett
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| Coronavirus: WHO warns 190,000 could die in Africa in one year Posted: 08 May 2020 02:56 AM PDT  Covid-19 could linger for years and "smoulder in transmission hot spots", the WHO warns.
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| Europe holds low-key V-E Day commemorations due to virus Posted: 08 May 2020 01:48 AM PDT  Europe marked the 75th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany to Allied forces in low-key fashion Friday because of coronavirus lockdown restrictions across the continent. There were no mass gatherings, no hugging or kissing, but the day of liberation was emotionally charged from Belfast to Berlin. Queen Elizabeth II brought the U.K.'s commemorations to an end with a televised broadcast to the nation at the exact time her father, King George VI, addressed the country in 1945.
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| Iran Has Gotten Nothing from U.S. ‘Humanitarian’ Channel Posted: 08 May 2020 01:16 AM PDT  The humanitarian banking channel set up by the Trump administration to get medicine and other supplies into Iran—a politically calculated show of compassion amid otherwise draconian U.S. sanctions—has not in fact processed any potentially life-saving transactions, the Swiss government confirmed to The Daily Beast.Trump's 'Maximum Pressure' Is Helping COVID-19 Ravage IranAnnounced in late January and declared operational a month later, the channel, known as the Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement (SHTA), was supposed to ensure that "humanitarian goods continue to reach the Iranian people without diversion by the regime," as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Feb. 27.But it's not happening—at a time when, according to Johns Hopkins University, the novel coronavirus has infected an estimated 103,000 Iranians and killed at least 6,486. "No transactions have yet been carried out. Unfortunately, this whole process has been slower than expected because of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Fabian Maienfisch, a spokesman for Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), which oversees the channel. The moribund state of the channel contrasts with the fanfare with which the Trump administration announced it. To show that the "Maximum Pressure" sanctions campaign is not consigning Iranians to their fate during the pandemic, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on March 17, "We have an open humanitarian channel to facilitate legitimate transactions even while ensuring our maximum pressure campaign denies terrorists money."Knowledgeable observers say the way the channel is structured places substantial burdens in the way of companies looking to sell Iran humanitarian supplies. Set up through the Swiss bank BCP, compliance requirements for making use of the channel are elevated by design, to provide the U.S. with an assurance that the money won't be diverted into any Iranian military or other effort. The Treasury Department boasted in February of the "enhanced due diligence" participating financial institutions will need to perform. "The reporting requirements are overkill. If it takes three months for a company to get the paperwork in order to even use the channel, it's disingenuous for the administration to suggest it has done everything it can to ease humanitarian trade during a pandemic emergency," said Esfandyar Batmanghelidj of Bourse & Bazaar, which tracks the Iranian economy. Batmanghelidj and co-author Sahil Shah were the first to spot that the SHTA has not processed any transactions since a January pilot effort. In an indication of the bureaucracy involved in the SHTA, Maienfisch told The Daily Beast, "Swiss export and trade companies that are interested in participating are currently collecting the necessary information and documents to be submitted to SECO." Queried by The Daily Beast, the Treasury Department declined comment beyond pointing to its Feb. 27 announcement that the SHTA channel is operational. "It's unfortunate that the Iranian government turned down our offer of humanitarian assistance for COVID-19. Our priority has been to stand with the Iranian people–and this offer is still on the table," a State Department spokesperson said. "The United States and Switzerland remain committed to the success of the Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement and we expect transactions to continue shortly. Iranian President Rouhani has also confirmed that U.S. sanctions have not impeded Iran's response to COVID-19."At least one concern critics of "maximum pressure" had about the humanitarian-trade channel appears not to have manifested. It had been unclear from the SHTA's establishment if Iran could transfer its foreign currency reserves held in other banks into BCP for the purchase of medical goods and food. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi claimed in March that "we asked [the U.S.] to allow our other financial resources in various countries [to] enter this channel in order to provide medicines and medical equipment, but they [U.S.] did not allow it." Maienfisch clarified that Iran can put money it's got outside BCP into the Swiss bank. "We are currently working on transfers to put additional funds into the SHTA with support from the U.S. side. There is nothing to clarify, as the need to regularly replenish the funds at BCP is understood and accepted by all parties involved," he said.Coronavirus hit Iran hard, as its ruling elites—like America's—initially downplayed the severity of COVID-19 as little more than a common sickness. Observers suspect the real number of Iran's COVID-19 deaths is far higher than the Iranian government acknowledges. "In my experience, [the outbreak] was four to five times what was announced," an anonymous doctor in Tehran told France24 on Wednesday, "but TV outlets insisted the numbers were low, so people weren't taking it very seriously." In late April, Iran began reopening its economy.Maximum Pressure does not formally bar food, medicine or related goods from entering Iran. But Batmanghelidj said Iran continued to face weaknesses in its medical supply chain, something the SHTA was meant to alleviate. "Launching the Swiss channel was an admission by the Trump administration that the 'Maximum Pressure' sanctions do in fact restrict humanitarian trade, thereby harming ordinary Iranians," he said. "Failing to ensure the channel could actually operate while Iran confronted a global pandemic makes clear that some people in the administration just don't care about the harm they are causing."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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| N. Korea accuses South of 'reckless' drills along sea border Posted: 08 May 2020 12:06 AM PDT  North Korea threatened Friday to retaliate against South Korea for "reckless" military drills near their disputed sea boundary, but the South denied any training in the immediate area, the scene of several bloody naval skirmishes in recent years. The wrangling came five days after South Korea accused the North of initiating an exchange of gunfire along their land border.
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| Veterans left in limbo as virus hits Nazi defeat anniversary Posted: 07 May 2020 11:53 PM PDT  On Friday's 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, talk of war is afoot again — this time against a disease that has killed at least a quarter of a million people worldwide. It sounded like a cry from some past, bellicose era or a Hollywood movie, but instead it was French President Emmanuel Macron speaking in a March 16 national address. Close to France's Normandy D-Day beaches where he fought in perhaps the most momentous day of that war — the June 6, 1944, landings of allied troops in Nazi-occupied France — former U.S. army medic Charles Shay was listening to Macron.
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| Iran quake of magnitude 5.1 kills two, injures 22 Posted: 07 May 2020 10:39 PM PDT |
| Lives Lost: Purveyor of tacos, joy well loved in Seattle Posted: 07 May 2020 10:03 PM PDT  Tomas Lopez didn't make the food he sold from his family's bright green taco truck, but it was his face the customers knew. Lopez sat at a table beside the truck in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood.
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| UN chief says pandemic is unleashing a 'tsunami of hate' Posted: 07 May 2020 09:52 PM PDT  U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday the coronavirus pandemic keeps unleashing "a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering" and appealed for "an all-out effort to end hate speech globally." The U.N. chief said "anti-foreigner sentiment has surged online and in the streets, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have spread, and COVID-19-related anti-Muslim attacks have occurred." "And journalists, whistleblowers, health professionals, aid workers and human rights defenders are being targeted simply for doing their jobs."
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| World War II veterans mark V-E Day in Washington with Trump Posted: 07 May 2020 09:48 PM PDT  They stormed French beaches on D-Day, helped liberate a concentration camp and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Ranging in age from 96 to 100, the veterans held their salute as President Donald Trump joined them in a commemoration at the World War II Memorial on a blustery Friday morning. Steven Melnikoff, now 100, was an infantryman whose Army unit was responsible for capturing more than 10,000 German soldiers.
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