Worldwide / 123

Face coverings recommended as restrictions eased

May 18, 2020

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan stressed that wearing a mask is another measure to combat the spread of the virus, not a "silver bullet" to beat the virus. Mr Varadkar said coronavirus was an "inferno that is raging around the world". We must extinguish every spark, quench every ember. "We are bound together and we must rely on each other if we are to succeed, which we will", he said.

Trump Says He Is Thinking Of Restoring Some U.S

May 18, 2020

Previously, the United States despatched about $400 million a yr to the World Health Organization yearly, which is ten occasions the quantity China contributes. The alleged delay came at a crucial time in January, as the virus was spreading around the world undetected and China was stockpiling medical equipment and protective gear made in the USA and elsewhere.

Andrew Cuomo Gets Tested for Coronavirus at Briefing

May 18, 2020

Testing had been limited to those with symptoms, healthcare and essential workers, and anyone who may have had contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus. An agreement with CVS will allow samples to be collected at more than 60 pharmacies across the state, Cuomo said. Each site will be able to conduct 50 or more tests per day.

Hong Kong legislature erupts into fisticuffs

May 18, 2020

The Democrats chanted "foul play" and held a placard reading "CCP [China Communist Party] tramples HK legislature". One lawmaker threw torn-up pages of the legislature's rulebook at members of the opposition, while another shouted, "It's an illegal meeting".

Trump's 200 ventilators ‘donated’ to India cost $2.6 million

May 18, 2020

As the coronavirus caseload in India was inching toward 85,000, US President Donald Trump extended a helping hand and announced that Washington would donate ventilators to New Delhi. "I just got back, a short while ago, from India recently", he said. In the earlier tweet, he also wrote: "We're also cooperating on vaccine development".

Navarro: CDC ‘Really Let the Country Down’ on Coronavirus Testing Early On

May 18, 2020

When asked for evidence that China "deliberately unleashed" the coronavirus to devastate the US economy, Navarro said he did not think they did it "deliberately", but he later added "I do blame the Chinese" for the current situation. As far as I'm concerned, his administration was a kumbaya of incompetence in which we saw millions of manufacturing jobs go off to China. "We will have more fans than America ever needs and we will be able to export these fans", he said.

NSW virus death toll hits 48, one new case

May 18, 2020

However, as more people head back to work in the coming weeks, NSW authorities are concerned that increased use of the PT network could lead to a spike in instances of community transmission of the coronavirus. With these new numbers in mind, Constance stated that the city's public transport system will only be able to carry 550,000-600,000 commuters in comparison to its usual 2.2 million.

NYC tourist arrested in Hawaii after Instagram pics showed him at beach

May 18, 2020

April 28, 2020. David Ige has extended the state's mandatory 14-day quarantine for visitors to the state through the end of June, during a Facebook Live video , and has discouraged visitors from coming to the state. Bail was set for Peters at $4,000. He couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Local sleuths realized he'd Instagrammed a photograph from Bryant Park only a week in the past, pegged him for a brand new arrival after which ratted him out to authorities.

IL family builds 'hug time' device for grandma

May 18, 2020

The post has gathered hundreds of shares and comments praising the clever social distancing solution. Using some PVC pipes, a window insulator kit, and duct tape, Carly Marinaro built a "hug time" machine outside her house in Rockford, Illinois.

Trump softens on cutting funding to WHO

May 18, 2020

Still, may 14 the United States administration announced the partial resumption of funding to the world health organization. It has been a month since Trump announced a halt to the funding, accusing the WHO of having "failed in its basic duty", adding that "it must be held accountable", amid criticisms both from authorities at home and all over the world at a time when coronavirus infections still soared.

McConnell admits Obama did leave Trump a pandemic plan

May 18, 2020

I clearly made a mistake in that regard. Former President Barack Obama responded to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell calling him classless for giving his opinion on Trump's pandemic response. "In other words, the Obama-Biden paper pocket was superseded by President Trump-style pandemic preparedness". "You know, we know he doesn't like much this administration is doing", McConnell told Lara Trump .

Italy's daily coronavirus death toll and new cases dip

May 18, 2020

Meanwhile, recoveries continued to climb, crossing the 120,000 mark, as more patients left intensive care, easing pressure on Italy's overwhelmed healthcare system. The nation is now "very close" to quiting the transmission of the infection, the head of the emergency situation health and wellness centre, Fernando Simon, stated on Sunday.

Canadian military plane crashes in British Columbia during flyover event

May 18, 2020

Resident Cory Pelton posted a video on his Facebook page showing the two Snowbirds taking off from the Kamloops airport and films the one that eventually crashes. Federal Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan said on Twitter that he was "deeply saddened" by the news of the crash, and offered his thanks to local first responders.

Iran warns against United States aggression against its oil tankers in the Caribbean

May 18, 2020

US sanctions forbid Iran from selling oil and the U.S.is also pressuring all countries against supplying fuel to Venezuela, as part of Washington's efforts to drive President Nicolas Maduro from power. All the vessels involved belong to Iranian state-owned or state-linked companies, flying under the Iranian flag. In 2018, US President Donald Trump had withdrawn from a multi-nation nuclear deal with Iran, and imposed heavy sanctions on the country's economy.

German cafe has customers wear pool noodles to enforce social distancing

May 18, 2020

To celebrate their reopening, owner Jaqueline Rothe posted a photo to the cafe's Facebook page showing customers sitting at tables casually enjoying their meals like they don't have a flotation device fixed to their heads. Rothe spoke to CNN and explained that they had cut their seating capacity in half to help enforce social distancing measures. "We'll see what to expect when Germany opens up more, more people are allowed to travel, and more tourists are coming in the next few weeks".

New date for intra-Afghan peace talks in discussion: Zalmay Khalilzad

May 18, 2020

The Western-backed government in Kabul was not a party to the deal . From the cradle to the grave, it seems no one is safe from Afghanistan's endless war. Eleven were killed, including three in the delivery room with their newborn babies while five others were wounded. Most of the ISKP members were Pakistani nationals who had infiltrated, four years ago, into Nangarhar province through the Durand Line - the border which Afghanistan has disputed since it was drawn by the British in 1893.

Coronavirus cases in Brazil skyrocket as Bolsonaro fights lockdowns

May 18, 2020

Bolsonaro in a video conference with business leaders had promised to ease rules for the use of chloroquine while Teich had earlier too warned of side effects of using the antimalarial drug. "That is an affront to the nation", Camilo Santana said. He replaced Nelson Mandetta, who was sacked on April 16 for reportedly resisting Bolsonaro's pressure to fight state government social-distancing orders.

Israel PM Says Government Should Annex West Bank Settlements

May 18, 2020

He also vowed to push on with controversial plans to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank. Palestinian leaders reject the legitimacy of the move. The coalition government was agreed last month between veteran right-wing leader Netanyahu and the centrist Gantz, a former army chief. With the acute need for political stability, it is hardly unlikely that Netanyahu, often referred by media as "magician" for his political survivability, would try to sideline Gantz right away, but he may ...

Martin Shkreli Denied Request To Be Released To Find COVID-19 Cure

May 18, 2020

Shkreli will protect the public, even though Mr. Shkreli seeks to leverage his experience with pharmaceuticals to help develop a cure for COVID-19 that he would purportedly provide at no cost", Matsumoto wrote. Shkreli's concerns of contracting COVID-19 at FCI Allenwood Low in PA wasn't valid since there were zero cases found in the correctional facilities.

India joins 62 nations seeking probe into Covid outbreak

May 18, 2020

A vote is expected in the early hours of Tuesday. This prompted an aggressive response from China, with Beijing describing the decision as a propaganda war launched by the United States and accusing Canberra of parroting some U.S. He has tried to set up a phone call with his Chinese counterpart in an attempt to soothe the growing rift but so far, there has been no response. Politicians from the Morrison government appear more willing to encourage Australian companies to explore new markets ...

Sen. Richard Burr Steps Down As Intelligence Committee Chairman After FBI Raid

May 18, 2020

And this was weeks before the pandemic sent markets into freefall. Kelly Loeffler admitted in a statement Thursday that she has turned over documents to federal authorities who are investigating alleged insider trading by her and other members of Congress.

8 more sailors aboard United States ship test positive a second time

May 18, 2020

Despite those setbacks the Navy is proceeding with the simulation. Sailors who have tested positive are being sent back to the US Naval base on Guam for another round of isolation. Some 18 others who came in close contact with the infected sailors have also been taken off the ship and placed into quarantine " out of an abundance of caution ", a USA official told CNN .

China reports 5 new coronavirus cases

May 18, 2020

Four new cases were reported in Inner Mongolia, the commission said, adding that one new suspected case imported from overseas was reported in Shanghai. The last day the commission reported a death was on April 14, its own records show, although the dismissal of infection and fatality rates flies in contrast to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping admitting last week at a leadership gathering the Wuhan virus is still a major problem.

Israel swears in new gov't as Netanyahu pledges annexation push

May 18, 2020

Such a move was likely to cause global uproar and inflame tensions in the West Bank, home to almost three million Palestinians and some 400,000 Israelis living in settlements considered illegal under worldwide law. The new government may be confronted with yet another worldwide crisis in matter of weeks, centred on the West Bank. "These territories are where the Jewish nation was born and grew", he said.

Egypt arrests editor-in-chief of prominent independent news site

May 18, 2020

She will remain in police custody and will be referred to prosecution tomorrow for questioning. Attalah has been transferred to the Maadi police station. On Sunday, the Committee to Protect Journalists called for Attallah's release. Timothy Kaldas, of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy and a longtime friend of Attalah, said: "Lina's arrest is yet another example of Egypt's persistent assault on journalists".

China reports five new coronavirus cases, raises fears of second wave

May 18, 2020

Jilin is the second largest city of Jilin province, which borders North Korea and Russian Federation. Shulan has been classified as a high-risk area, while Jilin province on Saturday adjusted (link in Chinese) Fengman's status from medium-risk to high-risk.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw updates Albertans Friday on COVID-19

May 18, 2020

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said Thursday he understands and supports the province's decision to delay reopening for hospitality businesses and hair salons, though he said he wished the announcement was made sooner. "And barring an unforseen spike in new cases or hospitalizations, we should be able to stick to this slightly more gradual schedule". This brings the total to 6,300.

Snowbird jet crashes in Kamloops, B.C.

May 18, 2020

Resident Grant Mcinnes saw the tragic event unfold. The Royal Canadian Air Force says it is aware that one of its aircraft crashed in the vicinity of Kamloops. 'Our number one priority at this time is determining the status of our personnel, the community and supporting emergency personnel'. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

Coronavirus: Donald Trump hits back at 'grossly incompetent' Barack Obama after criticism

May 18, 2020

His remarks came as he spoke at two virtual commencements for high school and university students locked down instead of celebrating their graduations, a rite of passage every spring in the United States. In keeping with tradition, America's first black president has up until now avoided publicly criticizing his successor, despite frequently being attacked by Trump.

Union criticises 'flimsy' evidence behind Government's plan to reopen schools

May 18, 2020

He added that there are children from hard or very unhappy homes "for whom school is the happiest moment" in the week "and the safest place to be" and those children should be supported in their return to school. "We will be carefully monitoring the impact this first phase has", he said. Williamson said that schools in England would reopen for certain students such as those in the early stages and late stages of both primary and secondary education.

741 confirmed Louth cases of Covid-19

May 17, 2020

This evening, the chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said the advice remains the same, that members of the public should continue to "stay at home where possible". "We still want to see progress over the coming days", he said. "We will be monitoring this figure and the overall number of infections in the population very closely over the coming weeks".

Ontario reports another increase in COVID-19 cases and 33 deaths

May 17, 2020

Among the total cases, 77 (12%) have been residents or patients associated with a confirmed institutional outbreak, and among the total deaths, 11 (44%) have been residents or patients associated with a confirmed institutional outbreak. As of Friday afternoon, there have been 74,750 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 5,553 deaths in the country. There have been 27 more deaths bringing that total to 1,825.

Jacinda Ardern turned away from cafe under virus rules

May 17, 2020

Yesterday morning, a Twitter user named Joey said: "Omg Jacinda Ardern just tried to come into Olive and was rejected cause it's full", followed by an aghast skull emoji. An unnamed manager of the cafe told the NZ Herald that no special exceptions were made for the Prime Minister and her partner. Ms Ardern and her fiance Clarke Gayford chose to get brunch on Saturday at Olive, a restaurant in the capital Wellington , two days after the country relaxed many of its lockdown rules, ...

Spain to extend its state of emergency for one month

May 17, 2020

Confirmed coronavirus cases climbed to 230,698 from 230,183, the health ministry said. Officials say while the outbreak has been brought largely under control, restrictions must stay in place longer as the lockdown is gradually phased out.

Lockdown 4.0 For 14 More Days Till May 31

May 17, 2020

Ahead of the announcement, several states had extended the lockdown. In an order issued today, the NDMA said there is a need to implement the lockdown measures for a further period to contain the spread of coronavirus , which has led to the deaths of over 2,800 people and infected over 90,000.

Coronavirus vaccine: Macaque monkey trial offers hope

May 17, 2020

The preliminary findings also indicated that the " ChAdOx1 nCoV-19" vaccine has been effective in preventing damage to the lungs. The authors wrote: "We observed a significantly reduced viral load in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and respiratory tract tissue of vaccinated animals challenged with SARS-CoV-2 compared with control animals, and no pneumonia was observed in vaccinated rhesus macaques".

Almost 600,000 Australians lost jobs due to virus pandemic

May 17, 2020

Prime Minister Scott Morrison termed the huge number of people losing their jobs "devastating" and "a very tough day" for Australians. The drop in the participation rate meant unemployment rose one percentage point to 6.1 per cent, well short of forecasts of more than eight percent.

South Korea Reports Single Digit Domestic Coronavirus Cases; Plans to Reopen Schools

May 17, 2020

Of the new cases, 10 were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 1,160. After weeks of almost no new domestic coronavirus cases, South Korea relaxed its lockdown on May 6, but a subsequent spike in infections linked to Seoul's Itaewon nightlife neighbourhood forced a rapid re-think.

Chinese envoy says U.S. undermining global economy, virus fight

May 17, 2020

The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency on Wednesday said they were probing attempts by Chinese government-aided hackers and others to target USA organisations conducting research on vaccines, treatments, and testing related to the coronavirus pandemic.

'Don't politicise migrants issue': Furious Finance Minister Sitharaman blasts Rahul Gandhi, Congress

May 17, 2020

Dressed in black trousers and white kurta, he talked to the workers and heard their grievances. The Congress later alleged that police tried to detain the migrant workers who interacted Rahul Gandhi - a charge denied by the Delhi Police.

Coronavirus Can cause 28 million cancelled Operations Internationally

May 17, 2020

They based the figure on a 12-week period of peak disruption to hospital services due to COVID-19. The study, published in the British Journal of Surgery , also indicated that each additional week of disruption to hospital services will be associated with a further 2.4 million cancellations.

Michigan Rep. Justin Amash ends his Libertarian bid for White House

May 17, 2020

Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI), the Never Trump libertarian-leaning congressman who quit the Republican Party previous year, announced Saturday that he will not run for president after recently launching an exploratory committee for the Libertarian Party's White House nomination.

Hong Kong police watchdog clears force over protest response

May 17, 2020

Hong Kong's police watchdog is set to release a long-delayed report on officers' handling of its protest movement, a development unlikely to quell resurgent unrest or resolve accusations of excessive force as it falls short of the independent inquiry demonstrators have demanded.

Iran sentences French academic to 5 years: lawyer

May 17, 2020

She was arrested in June 2019 along with fellow researcher Roland Marchal. This file handout picture taken in 2012 in an undisclosed location and released on July 16, 2019, by Sciences Po university shows Franco-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah as Iran confirmed her arrest without giving any details of her case, the latest in a long list of dual nationals held in the country's prisons.

China's ambassador to Israel found dead in Tel Aviv home

May 17, 2020

He leaves behind a wife and a son. Israel's Channel 12 TV, quoting unnamed medical sources, said initial indications were that Mr Du had died in his sleep of natural causes. Israel enjoys good relations with China. Du arrived in Israel in February to hold the position of ambassador. His unexplained death came just days after he criticized comments from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

'Graduate Together 2020' Line-Up: All The Stars Appearing and Giving Commencement Addresses

May 17, 2020

It was the former United States president's second commencement speech of the day - and his second rare public rebuke of Trump - after he earlier addressed graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities . "A disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country", he said at the first ceremony.

Cyclonic storm over Bay of Bengal today

May 17, 2020

Meanwhile, the state government has put 12 coastal districts - Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Khurda, Jajpur, Nayagarh, Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Mayurbhanj and Cuttack on alert for the cyclone. While Andaman and Nicobar Islands are likely to receive light to moderate rainfall on May 15 and 16, Odisha and West Bengal are likely to receive light to moderate rainfall on May 18 with heavy rains and very heavy rainfall on May 19 and May 20.

At least 10 firefighters injured after explosion in Downtown Los Angeles

May 17, 2020

Boyd Street, near Little Tokyo, according to LAFD. Shortly after firefighters arrived and began an offensive battle, an explosion was reported and multiple buildings became involved, leading them to go into a defensive fight outside the buildings, Prange said.

Coronavirus: Trump mulls cutting US-China ties

May 17, 2020

And cutting off the economic relationship would badly damage the American economy", he said. "These companies have to get on the ball because they're going not only to China - you look at where they're going - they're going to India and they're going to Ireland and they're going all over the place, they make them", Trump said.

Barack Obama Talks COVID-19, Ahmaud Arbery & More In HBCU Commencement Address

May 17, 2020

Obama said on the call. And in recent days Mr. Trump has unleashed tirades against Mr. Obama on Twitter and on television , resurrecting unfounded claims that his predecessor tried to bring him down by manufacturing the Russian Federation investigation.

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