| AP Exclusive: CDC docs stress plans for more virus flareups Posted: 12 May 2020 04:32 PM PDT  Advice from the nation's top disease control experts on how to safely reopen businesses and institutions in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic included detailed instructive guidance and some more restrictive measures than the plan released by the White House last month. The guidance, which was shelved by Trump administration officials, also offered recommendations to help communities decide when to shut facilities down again during future flareups of COVID-19. It shows how the thinking of the CDC infection control experts differs from those in the White House managing the pandemic response.
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| Kenyan nurse: 'I became a Covid suspect for doing my job' Posted: 12 May 2020 04:16 PM PDT  Coronavirus stigma surrounds the East African nation's health workers, patients and survivors.
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| Russia opposes any new US attempts at UN to punish Iran Posted: 12 May 2020 04:13 PM PDT |
| Biden plans to stay home, testing limits of virtual campaign Posted: 12 May 2020 03:32 PM PDT |
| US Senate threatens sanctions on China over COVID-19 accounting Posted: 12 May 2020 03:06 PM PDT  US Republican senators proposed legislation Tuesday that would empower President Donald Trump to slap sanctions on China if Beijing does not give a "full accounting" for the coronavirus outbreak. "The Chinese Communist Party must be held accountable for the detrimental role they played in this pandemic," said Senator Jim Inhofe, one of the sponsors of the "COVID-19 Accountability Act." The legislation will give Trump 60 days to certify to Congress that China has provided a full accounting on the COVID-19 outbreak to an investigation that could be led by the United States and its allies, or a United Nations body like the World Health Organization.
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| Israeli police arrest over 300 at mass gathering at shrine Posted: 12 May 2020 02:01 PM PDT |
| Brazil cities lurch to lockdowns amid virus crisis red flags Posted: 12 May 2020 12:24 PM PDT  Faced with overwhelmed hospitals and surging coronavirus deaths, Brazilian state and city governments are lurching forward with mandatory lockdowns against the will of President Jair Bolsonaro, who says job losses are more damaging than COVID-19. The movements of Brazilians have been completely restricted in fewer than two dozen cities scattered across the vast nation of 211 million — even though Brazil's death toll stands at more than 12,000, Latin America's highest. Stricter lockdowns are needed because Brazilian doctors are now being forced to choose who lives and dies and triage situations could generate social unrest if they increase, said Miguel Lago, executive director of Brazil's non-profit Institute for Health Policy Studies, which advises public health officials.
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| European Commission plunges plans for French exemption on UK's 14-day quarantine into disarray Posted: 12 May 2020 12:20 PM PDT  Plans to grant the French an exemption to Britain's proposed 14-day quarantine for arrivals were thrown into disarray on Tuesday as the European Commission warned it would have to be extended to other EU nations. Officials and experts warned that the proposed exemption was "unenforceable" because of the risk of legal challenge by the Commission and loopholes that could see a British family flying in from Florida forced into quarantine while French passengers were not. Ministers have also been warned that travellers from other European countries could use France as a staging post to by-pass the controls and enter the UK from French airports and ports. "It is challengeable and it is pointless," said one source. "It would be difficult to see how this could work operationally if you had a different process for the French," said Tony Smith, former Director General of the Border Force. Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said: "What's ineffective is these kind of idiotic measures like a 14-day quarantine, which is completely non-science-based, when you can exempt the French and you can exempt the Irish. "It's nonsense and it has no effect in limiting the spread of Covid-19." The proposals to exempt France emerged after President Emmanual Macron is said to have demanded concessions in a phone call with Boris Johnson on Sunday. The two leaders issued a joint statement on Sunday in which they stated that the quarantine would not apply to travellers coming from France to the UK "at this stage." However, yesterday a European Commission spokesman said that Britain was still subject to EU free movement rules during the transition period before Brexit at the end of the year. "Restrictions to free movement as well as the lifting of restrictions have to comply with the principles of proportionality and non discrimination," he said. Neighbouring countries were free to introduce bilateral measures but he added: "We would expect that the UK in this case, for instance, would apply the same kind of exemptions to arrivals from other member states, which are in a similar epidemiological situation as France." Government guidance issued on Monday pledged that quarantine would be introduced "as soon as possible" after lockdown starts to be eased this Wednesday. Officials are racing to publish the plans in full this week, possibly on Friday, under which international arrivals apart from those on a list of exemptions will be required to supply their contact and accommodation information and will be expected to self-isolate for 14 days. They will also be strongly advised to download and use the NHS contact tracing app. The guidance did not spell out how the quarantine would be enforced and by whom but it is expected those that refuse will face fines of at least £1,000 and deportation. The only exemptions listed in the guidance included journeys within the common travel area, which covers Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man and for key freight arrivals such as medical supplies and food. Doctors, scientists and law enforcement officers are also expected to be exempt. It is understood Government officials have been looking at whether Britain could preempt a legal challenge to a French exemption by putting a "sunset" clause on it so that it was time limited. Restricting the exemption to only Eurostar trains is also believed to be under consideration. It is thought likely that if Britain does not grant France an exemption, France would introduce a reciprocal quarantine arrangement that would hit British travellers. Spain announced on Tuesday that it will implement a 14-day mandatory quarantine for travellers arriving from overseas starting on Friday. Meanwhile, airlines will be able to offer passengers vouchers instead of cash refunds for travel cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic, under plans to be set out by the European Commission on Wednesday. Brussels's plan will give a boost to the stricken aviation industry, which is, according to a leaked commission document, facing "unprecedented numbers of reimbursement claims". EU law guarantees aircraft passengers a refund or rerouting at the earliest possibility if airlines cancel a flight but officials are mulling ways to preserve that consumer protection and spare the airlines. Revenue losses are reaching 90 percent for European airlines. The new voucher scheme is an alternative to, and not a replacement for, the cash refund, a draft of a commission communication on Covid-19, transport and tourism, which is subject to change, said. A finalised version of the idea is due to be presented in Brussels on Wednesday, along with other initiatives aimed at encouraging tourism this Summer, despite the pandemic. "Member states shall follow a joint approach, giving consumers an attractive and reliable choice between a cash refund or accepting a voucher instead," the draft said, suggesting the scheme could ease the sector's liquidity crisis.
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| 'A pretty scary thing:' Kid illness tied to virus worries NY Posted: 12 May 2020 11:58 AM PDT  Amber Dean had recovered from a mild bout of the coronavirus and her family of five had just ended their home quarantine when her oldest son, 9-year-old Bobby, fell ill. "At first it was nothing major, it seemed like a tummy bug, like he ate something that didn't agree with him," said Dean, who lives with her husband and three young children in the western New York town of Hornell. It was only later, after Bobby's condition took an alarming turn for the worse, that doctors realized he was among the small but growing number of children with a mysterious inflammatory syndrome thought to be related to the virus.
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| CDC: Airport Screenings Didn't Slow Spread of Coronavirus Posted: 12 May 2020 11:53 AM PDT  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says efforts at airports in California to fight the coronavirus through contact tracing were ineffective in preventing the spread of COVID-19. From Feb. 5 through March 17, officials at a number of California airports identified more than 11,500 visitors who arrived from China and Iran. The goal was to keep track of people from high-risk countries as part of a contact tracing effort.
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| CDC Report Finds Airport Screenings Failed To Slow COVID-19 Spread Posted: 12 May 2020 11:53 AM PDT The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says efforts at airports in California to fight the coronavirus through contact tracing were ineffective in preventing the spread of COVID-19. From Feb. 5 through March 17, officials at a number of California airports identified more than 11,500 visitors who arrived from China and Iran. The goal was to keep track of people from high-risk countries as part of a contact tracing effort.
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| Coronavirus hits world superpowers as some look to reopen Posted: 12 May 2020 11:47 AM PDT  As health officials issued warnings Tuesday against reopening economies too quickly, the coronavirus struck inside some of the world's superpowers, with a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin diagnosed just days after U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary also tested positive. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was hospitalized with the coronavirus, the latest in a series of setbacks for the Russian leader as the country struggles to contain the growing outbreak. The announcement of Peskov's hospitalization came a day after Putin announced Monday that Russia was easing some of its nationwide lockdown restrictions.
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| US choir outbreak called 'superspreader event' in report Posted: 12 May 2020 10:58 AM PDT  Disease trackers are calling a choir practice in Washington state a superspreader event that illustrates how easily the coronavirus can pass from person to person. The act of singing itself may have spread the virus in the air and onto surfaces, according to a report from Skagit County Public Health published Tuesday. "One individual present felt ill, not knowing what they had, and ended up infecting 52 other people," said lead author Lea Hamner, calling the outbreak a tragedy.
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| Women, migrants, minorities to suffer most in Latin America as coronavirus rages -UN agency Posted: 12 May 2020 10:51 AM PDT |
| AP Exclusive: Chicago morgue coping despite surge in deaths Posted: 12 May 2020 10:41 AM PDT  The Chicago area's chief medical examiner starts her day with a numbers problem: how to manage three times the number of deaths as before the coronavirus pandemic with the same number of pathologists. On a recent morning when The Associated Press got exclusive access to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office for the day, Dr. Ponni Arunkumar scanned a list of 62 new death cases. Forty of the 62 cases were coronavirus deaths.
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| Detroit-area residents lift spirits with costumed parades Posted: 12 May 2020 10:37 AM PDT  Sarah Ignash spends her days looking after dogs in normal times. With her business temporarily shuttered because of the coronavirus, though, she's taken to walks on the wild side through her Detroit suburb with dancing bears, bipedal zebras and the like. Ignash, whose business in nearby Roseville specializes in boarding, grooming and day care for dogs, is one of the roughly two dozen members of the Ferndale T-Rex Walking Club who have been donning inflatable costumes for feel-good jaunts during these stressful times.
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| Ban on foreign food suppliers with poor hygiene should be added to bill to prevent future pandemics, agriculture experts say Posted: 12 May 2020 10:32 AM PDT  A ban on foreign food suppliers with poor hygiene should be added to the agriculture bill to prevent future pandemics, farming experts have said. The bill, which is set to outline our animal welfare and ecological standards in farming post-Brexit, is having its third reading in Parliament today. It is thought that many animal diseases are likely to spread to humans through deforestation for agriculture, which means animals such as bats interact with humans and allow diseases to 'jump', and the intensive farming of pigs, which can become "mixing vessels" for disease. The Soil Association has argued that the bill should ban these farms from our supply chain and we should only trade with partners who employ robust animal welfare and hygeine. Gareth Morgan, Soil Association Head of Farming & Land Use Policy told The Telegraph: "There is a strong suggestion at the moment emerging that encroachment into major natural habitats is potentially one possible vector that animal viruses are coming into the human population. "That would seem strong evidence that we shouldn't rely on farm systems that rely on soy for intensive livestock production. Also for intensive pig farming systems, pig farming at a very intense level seems to be connected in 2018 there were reports a different coronavirus jumped from bats to pigs, and there was a report that may jump to humans. We need to discover whether pigs can become mixing vessels for novel coronaviruses. " He said that Britain needs to be a "beacon of high standards", adding: "We should be importing from countries that as far as possible have similar welfare and ecological standards to us." The National Farmers' Union agrees, and has written to MPs ahead of the reading, arguing: "The Bill should ensure that agri-food imports are produced to at least equivalent environmental, animal welfare, and food safety standards as those required of producers in the UK." Craig Bennett, CEO of The Wildlife Trusts said the bill is a chance to protect the environment and enhance food security. He explained: "We know that coronavirus has made people value nature more than ever; polls also suggest people have been worried about access to food. You can't have food security without nature being in good shape – you can't grow food without pollinators or healthy soils. It's vital that we recognise the important role farmers could play in nature and our climate's recovery – this Bill could mark a watershed, a shift towards a green renaissance which would be good for the economy too. MPs must not be swayed by the 'return to business as usual' lobby."
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| Cuomo: Wear a mask to respect nurses who died to save us Posted: 12 May 2020 09:31 AM PDT  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called face masks a sign of respect for others on a day the state reported 195 new deaths. Other data released Tuesday shows that nine out of 10 people arrested for coronavirus-related offenses in New York City have been black or Hispanic. Warning that the state isn't out of danger yet, Cuomo on Tuesday urged New Yorkers to wear masks out of respect for the nurses and doctors who have died to protect people from the pandemic, which he said had killed another 195 people.
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| Putin's Spokesperson Hospitalized Posted: 12 May 2020 09:23 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has been hospitalized with COVID-19. Peskov told Russian media that he had last been with Putin in person over a month ago. Meanwhile, Putin has announced that the country will begin easing virus restrictions, reopening businesses and returning to work in some parts of the country.
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| President Putin's Spokesperson Hospitalized For COVID-19 Posted: 12 May 2020 09:23 AM PDT Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has been hospitalized with COVID-19. Peskov told Russian media that he had last been with Putin in person over a month ago. Meanwhile, Putin has announced that the country will begin easing virus restrictions, reopening businesses and returning to work in some parts of the country.
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| Coronavirus: Madagascar President Rajoelina hits out at tonic 'detractors' Posted: 12 May 2020 09:18 AM PDT  Madagascar's President Rajoelina calls critics of his untested coronavirus herbal tonic condescending.
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| Angola billionaire Isobel dos Santos wants assets unfrozen Posted: 12 May 2020 09:14 AM PDT  The Angolan billionaire says documents included a forged passport using the late film star's signature.
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| VIRUS DIARY: Luck (good for now) is her isolation soundtrack Posted: 12 May 2020 08:55 AM PDT  I woke up this morning to the sounds of birds instead of sirens. Rather than dodging potholes and swearing at all the incompetent drivers complicating my 10-mile commute to the office, I spent the 45 minutes leading up to my work shift watching the steam from my coffee curl in the air as the branches of a tall pin oak, lifted by a morning breeze, fanned me with a thousand feathery leaves. Luck brought me here.
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| Russia now has the 2nd most coronavirus cases in the world Posted: 12 May 2020 08:50 AM PDT  Russia now has the second most confirmed coronavirus infections in the world, though its 232,000-plus confirmed cases is still far fewer than the United States.The country's cases continue to rise significantly day-to-day, although the rate is mostly stable. BBC News notes that there have now been 10 consecutive days with new infections above 10,000, most of which are in Moscow, which is home to around 12 million people.Despite the high number of cases, Russia has reported only 2,116 COVID-19 fatalities, giving the country a low death rate. The Kremlin attributes that success to a mass testing program, but many people are skeptical of the figure, believing the true total to be much higher, BBC reports.There are some high profile cases within the government, including President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who is hospitalized with the virus.None of this news has deterred Putin from beginning to ease lockdown measures, however — factory and construction workers were allowed back on the job Tuesday, although the president granted regions the authority to set their own restrictions depending on their status. Read more at BBC News.More stories from theweek.com How Trump lost his Electoral College edge to Biden 1 of these 7 women will likely be Joe Biden's running mate Progressives may block Democrats' coronavirus bill after it leaves out payroll funding for small businesses
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| Declaring COVID-19 the Ultimate Failure of Leadership, Citizens of 43 Countries and Territories Together Release "Declaration of Interdependence" Posted: 12 May 2020 08:43 AM PDT  World today officially released the Declaration of Interdependence. Drafted collectively with input from hundreds of people around the world, the Declaration demands that the leaders of all nations—as well as transnational groups such as the United Nations, the G7, and G20—place core principles of interdependence at the heart of their agendas.
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| Russia moves to ease lockdown despite surge in virus cases Posted: 12 May 2020 08:15 AM PDT  Russia moved to ease a nationwide coronavirus lockdown on Tuesday despite a surge in cases that has seen it register the world's second-highest number of infections. Daily figures released by health authorities showed Russia reaching 232,243 confirmed infections, behind only the United States which has reported more than 1.3 million. Among the new infections was President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who told Russian news agencies he had tested positive for the coronavirus and was being treated.
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| Russia: Putin's spokesman hospitalized with coronavirus Posted: 12 May 2020 08:14 AM PDT  Dmitry Peskov, a key aide of Russian President Vladimir Putin, told the Interfax news agency on Tuesday, "Yes, I've gotten sick. I'm being treated."
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| Coronavirus: How African countries are lifting lockdowns Posted: 12 May 2020 08:08 AM PDT  Countries have taken different routes in imposing restrictions - and in lifting some of them.
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| Quick trade deal with US is 'delusional', says former Treasury secretary Posted: 12 May 2020 07:25 AM PDT  Britain and America will find it impossible to strike a rapid trade deal while the coronavirus crisis is laying waste to the world economy, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has warned. A rapid tie-up which can take effect soon after the UK leaves the orbit of Brussels is now completely unfeasible because both countries are battling the pandemic, Mr Summers said. In a report for the Harvard Kennedy School, co-authored by former shadow chancellor Ed Balls, Mr Summers said: "It is delusional to think that a US-UK trade deal will happen any time soon. It is simply not possible." Last week government officials launched formal talks via video conference, with the two teams set to cover 30 topics during the first two-week round of negotiations. The Trade Secretary Liz Truss also published negotiating objectives for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan on Tuesday. Talks are expected to start soon. New analysis by the Department of International Trade (DIT) shows a Japanese FTA, which is expected to build on the existing EU-Japan deal, could give the UK economy a £1.5bn boost - or 0.3pc of GDP. That compares to previous DIT estimates that a US deal would boost GDP by 0.07pc to 0.16pc, while Brexit would knock off 2pc to 8pc. DIT said a Japan deal would lift wages by £800m and trade flows between the two countries by £15.2bn, while tariff cuts would save £33m a year, with Scotland, the East Midlands and London expected to benefit most. However, the Harvard report argues it is only realistic to expect a "mini-deal" with Washington - a political declaration executed without Congressional approval. The authors pointed to stumbling blocks such as NHS drug prices, tariffs and standards on agricultural products, public procurement, digital taxes and relations with the World Trade Organisation, International Monetary Fund and World Health Organisation. Key British concerns over possible privatisation of the NHS and food practices such as washing chicken in chlorine have long been seen as major stumbling blocks. Even a simple mini-deal risks forcing the UK to align with the US in a trade dispute against China, the report said, jeopardising the "Global Britain" agenda. One senior official at the office of the US Trade Representative said: "Feelings against China are running much stronger than they were, even a month ago. "That's going to create lots of issues for others who would just rather the Americans and the Communist Party of China to get along, but right now, it's not possible. The UK is going to have to decide where it stands."
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| Vladimir Putin's spokesman hospitalized with coronavirus Posted: 12 May 2020 07:19 AM PDT  MOSCOW — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agencies Tuesday that he has been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19. Peskov told TASS news wire that he last saw his boss, President Vladimir Putin, one month ago. Putin has been seen in recent days taking one-on-one meetings without wearing a mask.
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| Iraqi youth shot dead during protests was victim of militia group with Iran links Posted: 12 May 2020 06:28 AM PDT  The killers of a 20-year-old protester in Iraq have been unmasked as members of a pro-Iran militia group named "Thar Allah", in the latest sign that Tehran is using proxies to expand its influence in the fragile nation. Thousands returned to the streets of Iraq this week to mount protests against the Iraqi government, as they demanded an end to corruption and Iranian interference in their country. But within hours of the protests resuming, a 20-year-old was shot dead in Basra and several others were injured by gunfire. A source in the Iraqi protest movement said the youth was killed by fighters from the Thar Allah movement, which they described as a "new Shia militia" seeking to advance Iranian interests in Iraq. A second source in Iraq said Thar Allah was an Iranian proxy with links to the regime's intelligence services, adding that the group was more like a "mafia" than a militia. Little else is known about Thar Allah, which means "God's Revenge" in Arabic, though according to news website Al-Monitor it once fought against Saddam Hussein and has been dismantled and reactivated several times since the 1990s. The group has a political wing with an office in Basra guarded by militiamen, who according to some reports responded with gunfire because protesters had tried to attack the building. Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraq's new prime minister who hopes to restore stability to Iraq, confirmed that the office was raided by security forces after the shooting.
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| One of Putin's closest aides, spokesman Dmitry Peskov, has been hospitalized for the coronavirus Posted: 12 May 2020 06:09 AM PDT  Peskov is the fifth senior Russian government official to get the coronavirus, and the second from within President Vladimir Putin's inner circle.
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| Local prosecutors under investigation in Georgia slaying Posted: 12 May 2020 05:47 AM PDT  The Georgia prosecutors who first handled the fatal shooting of a black man, before charges were filed more than two months later, were placed under investigation Tuesday for their conduct in the case, which has fueled a national outcry and questions about whether the slaying was racially motivated. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced that he asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and federal authorities to investigate how local prosecutors handled the killing of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, who was pursued by a white father and son before being shot on a residential street just outside the port city of Brunswick. Gregory and Travis McMichael were not charged with murder until last week, after the release of a video of the Feb. 23 shooting.
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| 'Black April' for Russia's car market as sales plunge 72% Posted: 12 May 2020 05:45 AM PDT  Sales of new cars in Russia plummeted by 72.4% in April compared with a year earlier, the Association of European Businesses (AEB) said on Tuesday, as the coronavirus outbreak slowed production and halted some dealer operations. Just 38,922 new cars and light commercial vehicles were sold in Russia in April, which saw the biggest monthly sales fall ever recorded by AEB after a 4% rise the previous month. April was part of a non-working period in Russia, ordered by President Vladimir Putin to stop the spread of the coronavirus, bringing the economy to a halt as factories and businesses were forced to suspend operations and citizens asked to self-isolate.
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| Russian president's spokesman hospitalized with coronavirus Posted: 12 May 2020 05:41 AM PDT  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has been hospitalized with the coronavirus, the latest in a series of setbacks for President Vladimir Putin as Russia struggles to contain the growing outbreak. Also infected was Peskov's wife, Olympic ice dancing champion Tatyana Navka. The Tass news agency quoted Peskov saying he last saw Putin in person "more than a month ago."
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| COVID-19 confirmed in crowded UN-run camp in South Sudan Posted: 12 May 2020 05:35 AM PDT  For the first time, COVID-19 has been confirmed in a crowded civilian protection camp in South Sudan's capital, the United Nations said Tuesday, a worrying development in a country that's one of the world's least prepared for the virus' spread. The U.N. is aware that the health ministry and World Health Organization have confirmed the two cases in the camp in Juba, said Francesca Mold, a spokeswoman with the U.N. mission in South Sudan. The health ministry's emergency preparedness manager, Dr. Mathew Tut, said the two infected people were South Sudanese and in their 20s.
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| Government cybersecurity commission calls for international cooperation, resilience and retaliation Posted: 12 May 2020 05:35 AM PDT  The global commons are under assault in cyberspace. Ransomware attacks, including North Korea's WannaCry and Russia's NotPetya, have disrupted vital medical services and global transportation systems, costing billions of dollars. Iran and China have engaged in similar actions.These cyberattacks are carried out by states and nonstate actors that seek to undermine global connectivity for their own interests. But like a pandemic, these attacks affect all of society. The world needs a new approach to combating how nations use cyberspace to advance their interests at the expense of people around the world. The U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission was formed by Congress in 2018 to develop a strategic approach to defending the United States in cyberspace. It provided a road map for establishing cooperation and accountability in cyberspace. The commission consisted of four federal legislators, the deputies of the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, office of the Director of National Intelligence and Department of Justice, and six private-sector experts. One of us, Benjamin Jensen, served as the commission's senior research director.The commissioners and staff conducted more than 400 interviews with cybersecurity professionals, researchers and officials in the private sector, academia and foreign governments. The commission's final report, released in March, lays out a comprehensive plan of action based on a new strategy: layered cyber deterrence. Layered cyber deterrenceThe proposed strategy breaks new ground in two ways. First, it asserts that contrary to conventional wisdom, it is possible to deter cyberattacks. Second, the strategy calls for coordinating activities in three layers to secure cyberspace. This won't eliminate all bad behavior in cyberspace any more than traditional law enforcement has completely banished crime in the physical world. But it will improve how the U.S. government and the private sector respond to cyberthreats. The first layer calls for the U.S. government to shape behavior in cyberspace through diplomacy and establishing new norms. Too many states quietly condone hacking to steal, spy and threaten their rivals. These attacks rely on illicit marketplaces for malware. The key is promoting responsible behavior in cyberspace and assigning specific expectations for the roles and responsibilities of governments and the private sector.The second layer calls for the U.S. government to make cyberattacks less effective by promoting national resilience. This approach requires securing critical networks in collaboration with the private sector. It also requires being able to conclusively identify the perpetrators of malicious actions in cyberspace. And it requires increasing the security of the cyber ecosystem. Actions in this layer include working to create more transparency in cyber insurance markets and ensuring economic continuity in the event of a catastrophic cyber incident. The third layer calls for the U.S. government to impose proportional costs to malicious actions in cyberspace. This requires the U.S., in collaboration with allies, to maintain the capability and credibility needed to retaliate against nations and organizations that target the U.S. in and through cyberspace. The means to retaliate include legal, financial, diplomatic and cyber powers that, applied in combination, assure compelling and unavoidable consequences for transgressors. Early action with diverse responsesThe U.S. Department of Defense "defend forward" policy, laid out in its 2018 strategy, calls for detecting and responding to threats as early as possible. Early action increases effectiveness and minimizes disruption. The commission report calls for this emphasis on early detection and action to be extended to the use of all government powers. It also calls for collaborating with an international coalition that lends strength and legitimacy when responding to cyber attacks. The three components of this proposed strategy are defined as layers because they need to be applied in combination rather than as separate remedies. In this manner the strategy brings together a diverse array of private and public capabilities, resources and authorities. The commission's report includes 80 recommendations for implementing the strategy. For the recommendations that require changes in law, the commission drafted legislative language to assist Congress. The recommendations set the stage for a series of public hearings and outreach to the public. Implementing the strategy will involve changes in procedure, authority, law and ultimately in the behavior of cyberspace stakeholders. While the commission has transitioned its role to one of advocacy for the report's recommendations, the work of transforming perceived costs and benefits in cyberspace lies ahead. It will require the work of governments, the private sector and citizens. If the strategy is implemented successfully, nations that contemplate aggression in cyberspace will get the message: if you want to beat one of us, you'll have to deal with all of us.[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:
Benjamin Jensen holds a dual appointment as a Professor at the Marine Corps University and as a Scholar-in-Residence at American University. He is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and serves as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves. He served as the Senior Research Director for the U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission. The views expressed are his own.Chris Inglis 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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| Fire guts 400 shanties, shops in Bangladesh Rohingya camp Posted: 12 May 2020 04:40 AM PDT |
| Gun control group starts faith-driven push ahead of election Posted: 12 May 2020 04:37 AM PDT  A leading gun control advocacy group has enlisted more than a dozen religious leaders to boost voter turnout this fall in support of candidates who support measures to prevent gun violence. Everytown for Gun Safety, which expects to spend $60 million on this year's elections, is forging its interfaith effort amid ongoing concerns about shootings at houses of worship. Among those joining Everytown's initiative, details of which were shared with The Associated Press ahead of its official announcement, are evangelical Shane Claiborne, president of the group Red Letter Christians, and Rev. Traci Blackmon, a United Church of Christ executive minister and a central member of the Black Lives Matter movement.
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| Why Mike Pompeo Is Getting on a Plane to Israel Now Posted: 12 May 2020 04:10 AM PDT |
| German court rejects Iraqi's appeal over killing of teen Posted: 12 May 2020 04:04 AM PDT |
| 2 Hispanic churches and too many tears: 100 COVID-19 deaths Posted: 12 May 2020 04:01 AM PDT  One is a Roman Catholic church in Queens; the other, a Lutheran church in Manhattan. The death toll has neared 40 among the roughly 400 congregants who join Spanish-language services at Saint Peter's Church, a Lutheran congregation, in midtown Manhattan. The toll has been even higher at Saint Bartholomew Catholic Church in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens.
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| 10 things you need to know today: May 12, 2020 Posted: 12 May 2020 03:58 AM PDT |
| Virus-hit Iran to reopen mosques for holy nights Posted: 12 May 2020 03:35 AM PDT  Virus-hit Iran will reopen its mosques for three nights over the next week so that worshippers can pray during one of the holiest times of year, a minister said Tuesday. The Islamic republic shut its mosques and shrines in March as part of its efforts to contain the Middle East's deadliest outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The reopening was granted for Laylat al-Qadr -- a high point during the fasting month of Ramadan that marks when the Koran was revealed to Prophet Mohammed.
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| Trump is making America an obstacle in the global fight against Covid-19 Posted: 12 May 2020 03:17 AM PDT  The president's deadly mishandling of the pandemic threatens to make the world's most powerful country a pariahPresident Donald Trump's incompetent handling of the Covid-19 pandemic is not only exacerbating the death and destruction caused by the virus in the US. It is also crippling the global response to the crisis, and the costs could be even deadlier.When global crises hit, American leadership is essential. Whether it was launching the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) or marshaling efforts to respond to the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the US has played a central role in tackling many of the world's deadliest health crises. American leadership is far from perfect, but it is necessary to tackle threats of a global magnitude.This pandemic is one of the greatest challenges the world has faced since the second world war. America has lost more people to Covid-19 than it has lost in all of its military conflicts since the beginning of the Vietnam war. The outbreak has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives around the world, and the crisis has just begun. As the death toll rises and the path out of the pandemic remains uncertain, the economic catastrophe will be enormous.A successful global effort to defeat the pandemic will require a robust American response. Instead, Trump is making it harder for the world to address the crisis.Trump does not seem to recognize that the only effective solution to the pandemic is to counter it everywhere. Without a universally administered vaccine, the virus could continue to cycle through country after country. And as desperate as the situation is in the US, other countries could fare far worse. The UN recently tripled its assessment of the immediate need for aid to the most vulnerable and said trillions of dollars in rescue packages would be necessary for developing economies. In addition to the unimaginable number of people who could die from the virus itself, the pandemic could cause famines of "biblical proportions", according to the World Food Programme, and an economic collapse that could cost countless more lives.While the US would normally be leading calls for assistance to developing countries to help them deal with the pandemic, the Trump administration is barely noticing the desperate need around the world. In past crises, the US would gather allies and partners to develop common solutions; this time, the Trump administration blocked the G20 from taking action.> Trump has stood in the way of efforts to aid those who could be devastated by the pandemicTrump has attacked the primary international governmental organization dedicated to responding to pandemics. Early in the outbreak, long before Trump claimed that the virus would "disappear", the World Health Organization (WHO) was sounding the alarm and warning countries to prepare. But instead of working with the WHO, the Trump administration has turned the organization into a battleground with China and halted US funding.Trump has stood in the way of efforts to aid those who could be devastated by the pandemic. When the UN secretary general pushed for a global ceasefire during the pandemic – which numerous groups involved in armed conflicts indicated they would support – the US held up efforts because of squabbling with China over language referring to the WHO. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has continued to pressure Iran and Venezuela with sanctions despite how vulnerable their people are.Trump seems to view the race for a vaccine as a zero-sum game. In March, he reportedly tried to buy a German company that had made progress in developing a vaccine, with the intent of securing credit and access for the US. On 4 May, leaders from around the world convened to raise funds to find a vaccine and treatments and clear the way for mass production and distribution. But the US was missing in action – not only did Trump fail to attend, but the US didn't even send an official or any funds.One of the threads running through all this is a deadly US-China blame game. Since the Chinese Communist party (CCP) initially responded to the outbreak by trying to censor those speaking out about it, many in the US blame China for allowing the pandemic to spread. Whatever culpability China deserves, no one gains right now from a US-China feud over the pandemic at the expense of collective efforts to beat the disease. Yet that's exactly what the Trump administration and the CCP are doing.Trump's deadly mishandling of the pandemic at home also threatens to make the world's most powerful country an international pariah. With more cases and deaths than any other country, and with a president who seems uninterested in doing what it takes to safely reopen the economy, the rest of the world is unlikely to take American policies for addressing the pandemic seriously. Even worse, as other countries begin to safely reopen their economies, the US may become the target of travel bans, as China was early in the pandemic.In moments of global crisis, America is still the indispensable nation. But in today's moment of need, Trump is making America an obstacle to success.
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| Homophobia threatens to hamper South Korea's virus campaign Posted: 12 May 2020 01:52 AM PDT  As South Korea grapples with a new spike in coronavirus infections thought to be linked to nightspots in Seoul, including several popular with gay men, it's also seeing rising homophobia that's making it difficult for sexual minorities to come forward for diagnostic tests. The first confirmed patient in the new coronavirus cluster was a 29-year-old man who visited five nightclubs and bars in Seoul's Itaewon entertainment neighborhood in a single night before testing positive for the virus last Wednesday. A Christian church-founded newspaper, Kookmin Ilbo, reported last week that the places the man visited in Itaewon on May 2 included a gay club.
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| Iran holds funeral for 19 sailors killed in navy accident Posted: 12 May 2020 12:37 AM PDT  Iran held a funeral Tuesday for 19 sailors killed when a missile fired during an Iranian military training exercise this week mistakenly struck a naval vessel, the state TV reported. The ceremony took place at a naval base in the southwestern port city of Chahbahar, about 1,400 kilometers (875 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran. The bungled training exercises took place on Sunday in the waters near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
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| Suspect arrested in 1988 death of American man in Sydney Posted: 12 May 2020 12:25 AM PDT  More than 30 years after American mathematician Scott Johnson died after falling off a cliff in Sydney, a man has been charged with his death in an apparent gay hate crime that police believe was one of many over several decades in Australia's largest city. New South Wales state police said Tuesday that a 49-year-old man who they did not name has been charged with murdering the 27-year-old Sydney-based Johnson in 1988.
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